Worcester Park: project

ContextWhy it mattered

Sutton’s Surface Water Management Plan identifies Worcester Park as the borough’s most at-risk Critical Drainage Area. In the storm of 25 July 2021, 41 properties flooded internally. The council’s scheme provides about 4,000 m³ of storage, similar to the volume of that storm, in a permanent wetland and two temporary basins at the head of the Beverley Brook. It adds wildflower meadow and native trees, and is expected to reduce risk to around 200 homes.

Partners: London Borough of Sutton (scheme lead; lead local flood authority); Thames Water (receiving drainage network)

My roleWhat I did

Flood Risk Advisor, Partnerships & Strategic Overview (PSO): partnership advisor (development and funding)

Supported the council in developing a nature-based flood relief scheme.
Acted as the Environment Agency’s partnership contact on grant and partnership-funding requirements.
Tracked finances weekly and ran quarterly finance and audit checks.
Analysed delivery and timings, including delay analysis.
Supported funding and procurement, and made site visits.

Project cycleHow the project moved, stage by stage

Who led each stage, and what it produced. Filled steps were mine; outlined steps were led by others.

My role (4 of 7 stages) Context: led by the council, partners or the Environment Agency, not my actions

1NeedPartner-led
41 properties flooded internally on 25 July 2021; Worcester Park is Sutton’s most at-risk Critical Drainage Area.
Result A clear case for action after a real event.
ADB: Project identification · World Bank: Identification
2Evidence and optionsPartner-led
Council modelling, independently reviewed.
Result A nature-based option: wetland plus two basins, about 4,000 m³.
ADB: Feasibility and due diligence · World Bank: Preparation and appraisal
3Funding and partnershipMy role
Supported development and funding, as the Environment Agency’s partnership contact on grant and partnership-funding requirements.
Result Funding case developed; the scheme went on to be described as fully funded through joint funding. council
ADB: Cofinancing and counterpart funds · World Bank: Financing plan and co-financing
4ProcurementMy role
Supported procurement.
Result Construction contract awarded in 2026, after my tenure. council
ADB: Procurement plan · World Bank: Procurement plan (PPSD / STEP)
5Delivery monitoringMy role
Tracked finances weekly, analysed delivery and timings including delays, and made site visits.
Result A tracked development programme.
ADB: Implementation under the project administration manual (PAM); quarterly progress reports · World Bank: Implementation support; inputs to the Implementation Status and Results Report (ISR)
6EngagementPartner-led
Residents questioned the modelling at committee, and officers offered further engagement meetings.
Result Community concerns heard and answered.
ADB: Consultation and participation plan · World Bank: ESS10; grievance and feedback
7Learning and auditMy role
Ran quarterly finance and audit checks.
Result Audit-ready scheme finances; construction from spring 2026.
ADB: Completion report · World Bank: Implementation Completion and Results Report

PeopleWho it affects, and how results were shared

Who it affects

Households in Worcester Park: 41 properties flooded internally on 25 July 2021, and about 200 homes now with reduced risk
Users of Cuddington Recreation Ground

How people were involved

Council-led: committee hearing of a residents’ deputation, and further engagement meetings offered. public
My role was development and funding support. my record

What changes for them

Storage about equal to the July 2021 storm’s volume is held on the recreation ground, so less of it reaches homes. council
A new bridge, multi-user route, wetland and meadow change how residents use the space every day. council

Public evidenceOne year after the 2013/14 floods, probable depression, anxiety and PTSD affected 20.1%, 28.3% and 36.2% of people whose homes flooded, against 5.8%, 6.5% and 7.9% of unaffected people (English National Study of Flooding and Health). Source: Waite et al. (2017) English National Study of Flooding and Health, BMC Public Health 17:129.

Public evidenceIllustrative, derived from public figures: valuing only mental health, at the lowest Environment Agency band (£1,878 per adult, 0–30 cm, 2018 prices) and 1.85 adults per home, the 41 homes flooded in July 2021 represent at least about £142,000 of mental-health cost from that one event. Source: Environment Agency: Mental health costs of flooding and erosion (2021; 2018 prices); London Borough of Sutton: Flood alleviation scheme at Cuddington Recreation Ground.

MethodsMethods and tools

Nature-based solutions: constructed wetland and temporary storage basins
Partnership funding and grant-in-aid processes
Weekly financial tracking; quarterly audit
Delay analysis

OutcomeWhat happened

Construction started in spring 2026, after I left the Environment Agency. Planting follows in autumn 2026 or spring 2027 (council).

Holding a storm at the source. Schematic based on public sources (see Sources); not to scale.

In numbersOne storm, one scheme: homes flooded and homes protected

Homes

Homes flooded internally, 25 July 202141

Homes with reduced riskabout 200

about 4,000 m³ of storage, similar to the 2021 storm’s volume
about 20 m³ of storage for each home that benefits
at least about £142,000 mental-health cost of the 2021 storm alone

Illustrative, derived from public figures. About 20 m³ of storage for each home that benefits. The 2021 storm’s mental-health cost alone was at least about £142,000.

Council: 41 properties flooded internally on 25 July 2021; about 4,000 m³ of storage, similar to that storm’s volume; about 200 homes with reduced risk. Storage per home and the mental-health cost are derived from these figures.

Storage per home = 4,000 m³ ÷ 200 homes (derived)
Mental-health cost = 41 homes × 1.85 adults × £1,878 (lowest depth band; EA 2018 prices). A lower bound; depths are not published.

SkillsSkills gained

Nature-based solutionsTaking a wetland-and-basin option through development and funding, with biodiversity and access improvements alongside storage.
Partnership funding and financeBuilding the funding case for a multi-phase scheme, where the full value is larger than any single phase.
Programme and project managementDelay analysis and spend tracking during scheme development.
Climate adaptationSizing storage to a real recent storm (July 2021) as well as to design events.

Nature-based solutions
Partnership funding and finance
Programme and project management
Procurement and contracts
Climate adaptation

TransferHow this applies internationally

ADB RRBI. Wetland-and-floodplain storage, the green–grey measure RRBI promotes. I can test whether the basin tools a country uses actually represent nature-based options, because I have helped carry one through development and funding.

World Bank (results monitoring). An outcome comparable to the indicator “Land area benefiting from reduced risks of flooding”. Similar indicators appear in World Bank flood-resilience results frameworks, so I can help define and track them.

World Bank / ADB safeguards. Biodiversity co-benefits built into a flood scheme. This aligns with World Bank ESS6 and ADB’s ESF (effective 2026) on living natural resources.

UNDRR / Sendai Priority 3. Ecosystem-based risk reduction in an urban catchment. Sendai para 30(n) asks for “integrated environmental and natural resource management approaches that incorporate disaster risk reduction”.

SourcesSources

Value est. US$1.5m: full scheme value. Published figures cover the next phase only. The estimate is mine.