£121million bridge has left our villages underwater: Furious homeowners say new structure is to blame for floods as they threaten massive class action lawsuit against council

• The Herring Bridge in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, was built to ease congestion 

Flood-hit homeowners are threatening a ‘class action’ lawsuit against a council amid claims a new £121 million bridge has caused water levels to rise.

The Herring Bridge in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, was built to provide to ease congestion on roads in the area and opens in the middle to let river traffic through.

But critics say the abutments it stands on have reduced the width of the river by a third, from around 290ft to 180ft.

As the only outlet for the entire Norfolk Broads network, the narrower channel is slowing the speed at which water levels further upstream can fall, they claim.

Recent rainfall and spring tides have left river levels extremely high in recent weeks, leading to flooding in villages including Potter Heigham, Horning, Wroxham, Surlingham and Geldeston. Large areas remain under water.

One opponent of the bridge, who said their home in the River Bure had rarely flooded until construction on the bridge began in January 2021, revealed support for legal action was growing.

Images showing the Herring Bridge in Great Yarmouth in 2019 (right) compared with 2023 (left)

Flooding around Potter Heigham and the River Thurne floodplain on November 6

Coldham Hall was unable to open for two days this week due to the flooded roads

They accused the county council of penny-pinching by opting for a ‘cheap’ design instead of one that wouldn’t affect water levels.

‘It is much more than the odd tide-locking event now. Even when the tide drops the water level takes much longer to drop, exposing the risk that more rainfall will raise levels even further before they have returned to normal,’ they wrote anonymously online.

‘I, and many of my neighbours, are already looking at a class action in damages against the [county] council.

‘This will be a massive claim and all that was needed to avoid it was for the bridge to be built to span the river properly, rather than narrow the river to build a much cheaper bridge.’

Norfolk County Council says ‘flood modelling and risk assessments’ were carried out before construction began on the bridge, also known as the Third River Crossing.

But Paul Rice, a senior flood warden at Potter Heigham, said: ‘I have heard people suggesting it is connected to the new bridge.

‘I’m not a hydrology expert but what I do think is that if you do anything to a navigation channel, that will have some sort of impact.’

Peter Mantle, chairman of Wroxham Parish Council who is also involved with the Norfolk and Suffolk Boating Association, said flooding in the area wasn’t new but problems associated with the bridge were ‘plausible’.

He added: ‘As far as I’m concerned, yes, anything’s possible. The water levels around here have risen considerably.’

Recent rainfall and spring tides have left river levels extremely high in recent weeks, leading to flooding in villages. Pictured Coldham Hall in Surlingham receiving its deliveries by canoe

The Herring Bridge in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, was built to provide to ease congestion on roads in the area and opens in the middle to let river traffic through

The new bridge under construction at Great Yarmouth with it’s newly installed bascule leaves raised while works are completed. It was named Herring Bridge, to acknowledge the town’s herring fishing past 

Locals say numerous factors contribute towards rising water levels in the region, including silt being allowed to build up in waterways.

Steve Burgess, a Horning parish councillor and representative of the Pike Anglers’ Club of Great Britain and the Broad Anglers Services Group, said: ‘The most sensible approach is there’s an accumulation of problems, where everything has added a bit. But it [the bridge] is certainly the latest kid on the block.

‘It’s been raised but it hasn’t been looked into. It has been questioned several times at meetings I’ve been to.’

Mr Burgess added there was a suspicion the area had been ‘abandoned to nature’ by local and national government due to the cost of flood-prevention measures, saying: ‘We’ve all been left in the lurch.’

North Norfolk Conservative MP Duncan Baker recently criticised the county council, saying it was not doing enough to help people affected by flooding.

The Prime Minister was also accused of being ‘heartless’ by locals three weeks ago after he was accused of passing through a heavily flooded area without stopping to talk to them.

Rishi Sunak was travelling back from a visit to Bacton gas terminal in north Norfolk when his motorcade passed through Potter Heigham, which has been suffering its worst flooding in years.

Problems have been exacerbated by heavy rainfall, with 11 inches recorded in east Norfolk last month – more than twice the previous month’s total rainfall. Homes, businesses and major roads have been left under water – some more than once.

Flooding around Potter Heigham and the River Thurne floodplain on November 6

The Herring Bridge has already experienced difficulties, with a delay to road traffic until next year following the discovery of an unexploded bomb and a vole burrow. It opened to river traffic this week.

Norfolk County Council said ‘extensive’ checks were carried out before the bridge design was approved and claimed tides and rainfall, as well as the failure of back-up systems, was most likely to be behind current flooding.

A spokesman said: ‘We have seen some unprecedented high tides and high rainfall across the UK in recent months but we are not aware of any live flood investigations or legal action in relation to the Herring Bridge.

‘Extensive flood modelling has been carried out throughout the project’s development.

‘The extensive rainfall has led to some pump failures due to the high levels of use, which may explain why some communities in the Broads are seeing higher water levels for longer than usual after flooding incidents.

‘Our partners at the Internal Drainage Boards already have work underway to replace those pumps affected and ensure water can continue to drain away effectively.’

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