18 November 2021. John Miller, owner of Salthouse Farm Park retirement community, has lived and worked in the Severn Beach area for over 60 years. Here he talks about how the new ASEA project flood defences at Severn Beach, which are nearing completion, will secure the community’s future.

My business, Salthouse Farm Park retirement community, is an eight-acre private residential estate for retired and semi-retired people aged 50+. We are located on the edge of Severn Beach and have 57 park homes on-site. Originally a dairy farm and holiday site, the park as it is now, was completed in 2006. The park has since grown into a friendly and neighbourly community.

Since I’ve lived here, the risk of flooding has been managed with the building of flood defences. Now, with the possibility of rising sea levels over the coming decades, these new flood defences will lower the risk of flooding.

The new flood defences are great news because they offer protection for the estate in the long-term as climate change and rising sea levels increase the risk of flooding. The main benefit for us is the extra flood security that we’ll have, knowing that flooding is something we’ll need to worry about less in the years ahead.

We are very lucky that the Severn Way runs through Severn Beach. It has always been a pleasant stretch on which to take a stroll or ride a bike. The most important thing for me is the knowledge that its views onto to the Severn Estuary are not being spoilt by the new flood defences, which is really good to know.

The flood defence scheme will really help ensure the village’s survival.