Agreement has now been reached with a contractor to undertake the riverbank repair works with the width at the top sufficient to reinstate the former Public Right Of Way footpath from Jubilee Park to the Welfare Grounds should Newport City Council choose to do so.
Commencement on site is dependant on consent from Natural Resources Wales for a temporary works Flood Risk Activity Permit & also approval of the method statement by Newport City Planning. There are also nesting sand martins in the river bank, however they are expected to migrate by August.
The window of opportunity for works in the river ends mid-October therefore for the work to be commenced this year, all consents need to be in place by mid-August latest. Otherwise, the works will commence in Spring next year when a new window of opportunity allowed by Natural Resources Wales reopens.
Also, during the school holidays, work will also commence re-cutting the swale (open drainage ditch) from the bottom of the park at the outfall pipe to approximately 200m past the primary school in the first phase of trying to alleviate the waterlogged area of the park. This will mean that the footpath to the side of the school will need to be temporarily closed for approximately 10-14 days.
Colin Atyeo
Clerk to the Council