SkyscraperCity Forum banner

Newburn: Major Floods Damage and Repair | Newcastle | Various | U/C

31K views 83 replies 14 participants last post by  Ken O'Heed 
#1 ·
There is a problem out west with Spencer Court, Newburn having being evacuated due to flooding which may undermine the foundations.

This is a housing estate that has been built since 2006 at the bottom of Dene Terrace/Walbottle Road called Mill Vale.

The estate was built over the top of a culvert and a locals at the time warned about potential flooding.

A few weeks ago a huge hole opened up across from Spencer Court (the long gone steel works was Spencers).

NCC have been piping away water to Walbottle Dene but there was very heavy rain over the weekend.

Came across this http://www.flickr.com/photos/bigloada/2351897423/ photo of the Walbottle Culvert which runs down to the Tyne.

Never knew it was so large.

Very worrying for the residents down there.
 
#5 ·
Newburn Flooding 2012

SSC Eyewitness News...

Sad to say it looks as though the culvert further up near Mill Vale has collapsed.

This has brought a huge amount of water straight through the dip in the centre of Newburn.

Essentially the water is coming past what used to be the old Newburn Fire Station.

Sadly, a number of businesses have been affected - KB Cycles who are in the old Fire station, Presmac Plumbing who are in Walker Davison House, the OWNERS centre and Newburn Dentist.









 
#6 ·
SSC Eyewitness News...

Sad to say it looks as though the culvert further up near Mill Vale has collapsed.

This has brought a huge amount of water straight through the dip in the centre of Newburn.

Essentially the water is coming past what used to be the old Newburn Fire Station.

Sadly, a number of businesses have been affected - KB Cycles who are in the old Fire station, Presmac Plumbing who are in Walker Davison House, the OWNERS centre and Newburn Dentist.









Scroll down .
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2208269/UK-weather-Flood-warnings-North-foam-covers-Aberdeen-fishing-village.html
 
#10 ·
Block of flats at risk of collapse after floods in Newburn 25/09/12



Block of flats at risk of collapse after floods in Newburn




Floods left the foundations of the building exposed Photo: Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service

Fifty homes have been evacuated in Newburn in the Tyne Valley, close to a block of flats that could be at risk of collapse.

More on http://www.itv.com/news/tyne-tees/2...-at-risk-of-collapse-after-floods-in-newburn/


Better pictures included within Daily Mail link provided on earlier post: -

Scroll down .
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...g-village.html
 
#9 ·
^^^^^^

Residents have been evacuated from Spencer Court for quite a while now.

There is a good picture on the 'RonnyGill' site showing the block just held up by concrete piling.

Couldn't get nearer as area was taped off and policewoman said to keep back as there could be a gas explosion although the children were still allowed to play in the nearby Newburn Manor Primary school.

The worst case would the block collapses or has to brought down.

The whole of Mill Vale may be under threat?

Terrible for the residents there who deserve better.

Plenty of long standing residents said Mill Vale should not have been built.

Have just come back in from High Street and the water has subsided slightly but huge amount of mud and debris left.

The through road may be out of bounds for a number of days.

The buses nos. 21 and 71 can't get through and anyone going over Newburn Bridge going south has to detour through Throckley.

Hell of a day here in Newburn!
 
#11 ·
Block of flats at risk of collapse after floods in Newburn 26/09/12

Link to BBC News site 26/09/12

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-tyne-19730191

that shows aerial video of flats and surrounds under the "attack by water"


These 2 Sky news links of aftermath of 25/09/12 flooding

http://tyneandwear.sky.com/news/article/40830

http://tyneandwear.sky.com/news/article/40747


No doubt more to follow on this event as story has had live reports on both BBC News 24 and Sky News on afternoon/early evening of 26/09/12

KEN
 
#12 ·
The Great Flood ofNewburn - 2012

Well, the sorry story continues today which was largely much drier and sunnier.

The water coming down the hill has subsided a lot but am today the water wended its way in a rivulet along High Street.

Lots of media activity with plenty for the rolling 24 Hour news crews about.

Later today pm the heavy gear has been brought in and they are trying to pile up the earth so that the remaining water goes past Walker Davison House into the culvert.

The roadway on the High Street looks to have collaped and the painters car which was completely submerged seems to be the normal road level.

Could be a number of weeks before this is resolved.

The water has to be diverted before there can be any possible resolution.

What is terrible is the news that the cycle shop has been broken into overnight. The new said the cycles were recovered and one person arrested.

Let's hope the police on on guard all night.



















 
#13 ·
Spencer Court flats in Newburn on
brink of collapse, after flooding.

by Kate Proctor, The Journal, September 27th 2012


Spencer Court in Newburn where flats are on the brink of collapse

HOMES in Newcastle remained on the brink of collapse last night after floodwaters gouged out the ground beneath the building. The four-storey block at Spencer Court, Newburn, looks set to tumble into the river of floodwater that destroyed its foundations.

Meanwhile, looters broke into nearby KB Cycles and stole bikes worth £20,000 from the shop while roads were blocked by water and silt. Police have arrested a man and a woman in connection with the break-in and have stepped up patrols. Shop owner of KB Cycles Keith Bradley said: “They’ve taken high value cycles which retail for around £1,500-£2,000 each – around ten to 12 cycles. I’m going to employ my own security guard.”

Last night neighbours told how they fear for the safety of their homes as they faced another night in temporary accommodation after the flood. Sasha Proud and Michael Langdown fear they may never return to their ground-floor flat. Mother-of-two Sasha, said: “If that building does go down it will disconnect the gas and piping and it will cause a massive explosion and that could take out our flat too.


Read More - http://www.journallive.co.uk/north-...-after-flooding-61634-31915568/#ixzz27ejEW3ou
 
#17 · (Edited)
Spencer Court flats in Newburn on
brink of collapse, after flooding.

by Kate Proctor, The Journal, September 27th 2012


Spencer Court in Newburn where flats are on the brink of collapse

HOMES in Newcastle remained on the brink of collapse last night after floodwaters gouged out the ground beneath the building. The four-storey block at Spencer Court, Newburn, looks set to tumble into the river of floodwater that destroyed its foundations.

Meanwhile, looters broke into nearby KB Cycles and stole bikes worth £20,000 from the shop while roads were blocked by water and silt. Police have arrested a man and a woman in connection with the break-in and have stepped up patrols. Shop owner of KB Cycles Keith Bradley said: “They’ve taken high value cycles which retail for around £1,500-£2,000 each – around ten to 12 cycles. I’m going to employ my own security guard.”

Last night neighbours told how they fear for the safety of their homes as they faced another night in temporary accommodation after the flood. Sasha Proud and Michael Langdown fear they may never return to their ground-floor flat. Mother-of-two Sasha, said: “If that building does go down it will disconnect the gas and piping and it will cause a massive explosion and that could take out our flat too.


Read More - http://www.journallive.co.uk/north-...-after-flooding-61634-31915568/#ixzz27ejEW3ou
No chance of that happening as the gas mains feeding this estate were disconnected on Tuesday along with the electricity supply.
 
#15 ·
Spencer Court, Newburn flooding etc

In an attempt to show others the area being discussed in recent posts these are 4 screen prints taken from Google Maps (hosted on Phototobucket)

The main area



The area from Spencer Court (north) to south







Be interesting to see what follows from the public meeting being held from 1800 on 27/09/12

KEN
 
#18 ·
Spencer Court Flooding

This News Item from the City Councils web site @ http://www.newcastle.gov.uk/news-story/scrutiny-inquiry-spencer-court-flooding-events


Scrutiny of Inquiry for Spencer Court Flooding Events
Published date:
Fri, 28/09/2012 - 17:16

Newcastle City Council is to hold an inquiry into the flooding at Newburn, Newcastle, which has led to families being evacuated from their homes.

The Scrutiny Inquiry was called for last night at a meeting with residents to discuss the situation at Spencer Court.

The independent inquiry will form part of a Scrutiny Inquiry going on into flooding across Newcastle following freak weather events over the summer.

The council’s Cabinet Member for Quality of Life, Coun Henri Murison, chaired the meeting also attended by the builders of Spencer Court Dunelm and Northumberland Estates, owners of a culvert.

Cllr Murison said: “Residents have been understandably devastated by the flooding at Spencer Court, the surrounding area and businesses along the High Street at Newburn.

“Residents may have felt that they did not get the answers to their questions last night. I hope by the council looking into the events at Spencer Court we can start to make sense of what has happened and how all those affected can be helped while their lives are disrupted.

“The council is determined to do all that it can to support those affected and help the parties involved to rectify the situation as soon as possible.”

Meanwhile, an excavator moved into the dene behind Spencer Court today to remove debris from the mouth of a large drainage pipe to ensure that rainwater forecast for Sunday can flow away from the area and not fill the dene.

Demolition work on the most severely affected block on Spencer Court is expected to start early to mid next week. Demolition will take a few days - but it could take up to two weeks to also remove all of the rubble out of the dene at its rear.

The cost of clearing rubble and silt from High Street, Newburn, where businesses were also affected by flooding has been estimated at £500,000. The council has agreed to foot this bill in the short term but will recover all of the costs.

The access road and adjacent land is also unsafe, and any more extreme weather could cause further problems. So on Thursday, following advice from structural engineers, Your Homes Newcastle (YHN) had no choice but to ask City Council tenants at 18 households at Hareside Walk and Hareside Close to evacuate their homes. Unfortunately, they will be unable to access their homes whilst work is underway to repair the culvert and stabilise the land around the flats, which may take several months to complete.

YHN is working intensively to support the affected households to make sure their immediate needs are met and that they are able to access alternative housing quickly. They will contact tenants as soon as it is safe to access the flats to collect personal belongings, however engineers have confirmed that it is not safe to do so at the moment. Their technical team will continue to inspect the estate over the weekend.

Each of the affected households is immediately eligible for a one-off emergency cash payment based on family size. This can be accessed by contacting YHN's Investment Delivery team on 0800 091 1256.
 
#21 ·
Newburn Floods

This is perhaps one of the unseen consequences of the recent floods at Newburn:

PORT OF TYNE
NAVIGATION NOTICE
The following Port of Tyne Authority Navigation Notices remain in force: Navigation Notice: 1, 5, of 2012

www.portoftyne.co.uk

Navigation Notice
No 11 of 2012

Notice to Craft Navigating Upstream of Newcastle

Newburn Straight - Obstruction

The recent flooding events have caused a significant amount of debris (sand and gravel) to be washed into the Tyne from the culvert just downstream of Newburn Bridge.

This large mass of debris has formed a spit extending some 30metres into the river. It can be seen clearly at low water (1-2 metres above low tide level).

It may take several months for the action of the tide to clear this natural phenomena. In the meantime craft should take care when in the area and if unsure of their clearance with respect to this spit, should pass well to the south. Eastbound craft should approach the area with caution and be aware that Westbound vessels may be encountered mid-river.
 
#23 ·
Newburn Spit

This is perhaps one of the unseen consequences of the recent floods at Newburn:

PORT OF TYNE
NAVIGATION NOTICE
The following Port of Tyne Authority Navigation Notices remain in force: Navigation Notice: 1, 5, of 2012

www.portoftyne.co.uk

Navigation Notice
No 11 of 2012

Notice to Craft Navigating Upstream of Newcastle

Newburn Straight - Obstruction

The recent flooding events have caused a significant amount of debris (sand and gravel) to be washed into the Tyne from the culvert just downstream of Newburn Bridge.

This large mass of debris has formed a spit extending some 30metres into the river. It can be seen clearly at low water (1-2 metres above low tide level).

It may take several months for the action of the tide to clear this natural phenomena. In the meantime craft should take care when in the area and if unsure of their clearance with respect to this spit, should pass well to the south. Eastbound craft should approach the area with caution and be aware that Westbound vessels may be encountered mid-river.
Picture of 'spit' taken today from Newburn Bridge.



Looked like a guy is surveying said spit to build new riverside townhouses? :eek:hno:
 
#22 ·
There is a huge amount activity ongoing with the news that the demolition of Spencer Court is going ahead this week.

A bleak future for those families about to lose their homes permanently.

A tower crane looks as though it is now being erected.

There has been a large presence of Fire and Rescue men and vehicles as they are pumping the water down the hill though to the culvert south of High Street next to Walker Davison House.

Water still coming down over High Street so the road can't reopen until that is resolved.

As the road has been closed a free shuttle bus has started taking people up the hill to Throckley and the Sainsbury's supermarket.

Some families in homes under threat are in the Newburn Leisure Centre so an unhappy time for them.

This saga looks as though it will run and run for some time yet.

Will post some pictures later.
 
#24 ·
The Great Flood of Newburn - 2012

The cleanup continues in Newburn High Street.

Walker Davison House which was previously the Dole office, is being cleaned out.
Presmac in there has now moved to Norland House in Lemington and may not be in for another year.



View up towards the Fire Station where KB Cycles and the bridal shop were.





It appears they are now on top of the water that was still coming across the High Street, but tonight there have been some downpours so need to see how that affects everything.



Multilab used to be here but moved out a couple of years ago and empty since then.



There are some business people in the OWNERS centre.

 
#25 ·
Your Homes Newcastle flats in Newburn could come down

More homes could be knocked down close to a Tyneside block of flats already earmarked for demolition after floods.

Apartments at Hareside Walk and Hareside Close in Newburn, Newcastle, were evacuated following deluges last month.

Landlord Your Homes Newcastle (YHN) said the flats could now have to come down despite not being damaged by rain.

While Spencer Court was sold as private housing, the 18 homes in Hareside Walk and Hareside Close were leased by social landlord YHN.

Chief executive John Lee said that although they had not been directly affected by the culvert collapse, roads and land around the blocks were "considered to present a risk".


Full story of this ongoing "disaster for those living in the area" on BBC News http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-tyne-19889160

KEN
 
#27 · (Edited)
BBC said:
More homes could be knocked down close to a Tyneside block of flats already earmarked for demolition after floods.

Apartments at Hareside Walk and Hareside Close in Newburn, Newcastle, were evacuated following deluges last month.

Landlord Your Homes Newcastle (YHN) said the flats could now have to come down despite not being damaged by rain.

While Spencer Court was sold as private housing, the 18 homes in Hareside Walk and Hareside Close were leased by social landlord YHN.

Chief executive John Lee said that although they had not been directly affected by the culvert collapse, roads and land around the blocks were "considered to present a risk".
I was present at the discussions which the reporter is, er, reporting here.

To be fair, the body of the report is not inaccurate, it's the headline of 'more homes could be knocked down' that I must object to.
The reporter heard a lot of of expert evidence, from engineers, responsible authorities, stakeholders and others, and in amongst all the details of materials, engineering, ownerships, responsibilities and procedures, it was accepted that an assurance that a future assessment of another property might not be able to assure that it wouldn't be demolished. That hardly led me to the same conclusion as the headline writer (but then, I'm not a hack).

I have a lot of admiration for the parties who are struggling to deal with this crisis, though if I was to be critical, then it would be towards the fragmentation of responsible bodies which makes it impossible for any one agency to act most effectively, appropriately and speedily from a balanced assessment. The parties concerned all have their own assessments which may not converge - thats NCC, YHN, Northumberland Estates, Dunelm Homes, Contractos, Corporate insurers and the resident's insurers, and of course the individual residents' own assessments. In this matter, I'm sure their assessments do not converge, and the risk of cross litigation between them is high.

In my view, it is because of that fragmentation, and only because of that, it is possible that a decision may be made which, in the long term, is not the most beneficial decision. However, due to those bodies priority for risk-aversion rather than for client benefit, I will guess that demolition of any more properties is a long way away from real outcomes.
 
#26 ·
Newburn Flooding 2012

Mill Vale pictured ...awaiting it's fate.



Hareside Walk and Hareside Close are fenced off....they could also be demolished if the bank is found to be unstable.



Difficult to get close because of barriers...





Newburn Manor School is nearby but not directly affected



The nighmare unfortunately continues for the residents.
 
#29 ·
Newburn Flooding 2012

Cars pictured now able to proceed East along the High Street Newburn using the traffic controlled lights...



As you can see the culvert runs right underneath the building...



The culvert goes underneath the High Street and heads South towards the Tyne...



Not sure if that is a new piece of culvert which goes to the East of Walker Davison House...



The area in front of KB Cycles and the upstairs Bridal Shop is still a mess. They will have to reinstate the roadway and area in front of the shop before the road can be fully open...





On the South side of the road are these two entrance piers. Not sure what was in there?



This coming week it would seem there may be some demolition up the hill in Mill Vale.
Can't imagine how the residents must feel.
 
#30 ·
Newburn flood-damaged flats: Demolition begins 23/10/12

No doubt the first of many posts on this subject:-


This from BBC News

Demolition work has begun at a block of flats left close to collapse by flooding in Newcastle.

A stone platform has been built to allow heavy machinery to access Spencer Court in Newburn.

MGL Demolition is carrying out the work on behalf of developer Dunelm Homes. It is expected to take about two weeks.

Full story inc 2min 4 second video showing commencement of work by Hi Reach machine on http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-tyne-20031025

KEN
 
#31 ·
Newburn Flooding 2012

Start of the Spencer Court 'deconstruction' today.

Haven't seen any local news today but assume the local media would have had better access to the site.

Spoke to a photographer and he said he had been denied access however.





Work still continuing on Newburn High Street.







So the eight property owners have had their worst fears now realised.
 
#32 ·
Flood-damaged Newburn flats demolition begins
by Michael Brown, The Journal, October 24th 2012


Demolition teams start work knocking down Spencer Court in Newburn

DEMOLITION work has started on a block of flats fatally undermined in recent flooding ... but they could have been saved if property prices had not plummeted, it has emerged. Demolition crews working on behalf of Dunelm Homes yesterday began tearing down the eight Spencer Court flats that were undermined by floodwaters following a catastrophic culvert collapse in Newburn, Newcastle, on September 25.

Company boss Brian Manning said that had the property market not dipped by 20% to 30% in the time since the development was built, it may have been worth trying to shore up and repair rather than raze the building. “I think the cost of rebuilding, given the amount of land washed out, would outweigh the value of the flats now,” said Mr Manning, Dunelm Homes’ executive director.


Read More (Two Pages plus VIDEO) - http://www.journallive.co.uk/north-...molition-begins-61634-32091365/#ixzz2ACrCGvKK
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top