Highways·Sheffield Grey to Green·—·Sheffield Grey to Green

Sheffield Grey to Green

60% grey to green · discharge cut 80% · 75,000 plants · 561% biodiversity uplift

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Key insight

SuDS reduced river discharge from a 1-in-100-year event by 87% — from 69.6 to 9.2 litres/sec. Inspired an £80m SuDS project in Mansfield. Now the default approach for Sheffield city centre regeneration.

Transferability to UK: HighUK case directly applicable nationwide.

1.5km urban green corridor replacing a former ring road dual carriageway with Sustainable Drainage Systems following the 2007 floods that caused £30m damage, killed 2 people, closed Sheffield station, cancelled tram services and damaged 28 roads.

Climate drivers

Flooding – fluvialFlooding – surface waterHeavy rainfall

Impacts

→Water damage→Infrastructure disruption

Adaptation measures

  • Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS)
  • Rain gardens
  • Vegetated swales
  • Nature-based solutions
  • Green street corridor

Assets affected

Road pavementFoot and cycle pathsRail trackTramsBridgesSignals and signallingBuildings and stations

Investment

Phase 1 £3.6m; Phase 2 £6.3m; Phase 3 ongoing

Band: £1m–£10m per phase

Delivery period

—

  • Climate change and urbanisation are increasing surface water runoff in Sheffield . For example, river catchments have been altered as the city has grown, overwhelming sewage treatment works during heavy rainfall .
  • Rainfall in June 2007 was the highest experienced by Sheffield since 1882 .
  • 3 days of rain resulted in the banks of the River Don rising between 1.5 and 1.8 metres, bursting and flooding low lying areas of the city centre (3,6) .
  • Floodwater and debris resulted in cancellation of the tram service, damage to 16 traffic signal controllers, and closure of 28 roads and the Sheffield railway station .
  • Flood water affected 1,275 domestic properties and around 1,000 business buildings .
  • 2 people died and over 1,000 were evacuated or unable to go back to their homes .
  • Total cost of the damage was around £30 million .

Ref: ID_40 · Sheffield Grey to Green · Curated & verified by HIVE

Transferability to UK: High

UK case directly applicable nationwide. The largest retrofit grey-to-green project in the UK. Explicitly applicable to rail corridors following river valleys. Cross-sector impact — originally a road project that also protects rail and tram infrastructure downstream.

UK contexts

UK city centre transport corridorsRail lines following river valleysUrban tram networksLocal authority highway flood management

Yorkshire & Humber

Transfer to other sectors (AI)