Funding secured to develop key flood alleviation work in Tylorstown

Important Welsh Government funding has been secured to help progress a significant flood alleviation scheme at Arfryn Terrace in Tylorstown – to invest in further protection measures for the community in the years to come.

The community around Arfryn Terrace experienced flooding events in 2021 and 2023, and the Council has since undertaken a series of activities towards reducing future flood risk. These included advanced works last year at Park Street – to reduce surface water flooding and deliver a knock-on improvement for nearby streets including Arfryn Terrace and Brynheulog Terrace. A full list of the Council’s recent local activity is included at the bottom of this update.

The main Arfryn Terrace Flood Alleviation Scheme is in development, and will be delivered in a future year. It will include a series of measures that integrate traditional culvert upgrades within the community, while enhancing the capacity of inlet structures along the hillside. The scheme will also encompass introducing natural flood risk management features within the area’s upper catchment – for example, within the landscape above the community.

The Council is now awarded £200,000 funding from Welsh Government’s Flood and Coastal Risk Management Programme to help deliver the Full Business Case and the detailed design stage for the future scheme.

The funding will enable the Council to undertake key work over the next 18 months – including completing the technical design stage. This will essentially progress a preferred option that has previously been identified in the Council’s development of a Business Justification case. The first steps will be to appoint external consultants for the scheme, and to begin initial survey work.

Public engagement activity will be undertaken through the development of the detailed design stage.

Councillor Andrew Morgan OBE, Leader of Rhondda Cynon Taf Council and Cabinet Member for Infrastructure and Investment, said: “The Council continues to welcome important funding support from the Welsh Government to develop and deliver targeted local flood alleviation measures. More than £4.48m support was secured across several funding programmes in 2024/25 – which is being used alongside Council match-funding throughout the year.

“I’m pleased that the Council has received £200,000 funding to develop the Arfryn Terrace Flood Alleviation Scheme in Tylorstown, which will progress the technical design phase. It follows on from last month’s announcement of important support for the Pentre Flood Alleviation Scheme – to deliver the Full Business Case and key design work. Both schemes represent a significant local investment, and are being prepared for delivery in a future financial year.

“The newly-secured funding for Arfryn Terrace will enable consultants to be appointed and survey work to begin for the main flood alleviation scheme planned for the area. It will build upon important advanced highway works at nearby Park Street, which were carried out in the autumn and winter last year to tackle a known issue with surface water flooding. The Council will regularly update its dedicated webpage for the scheme, to keep residents up to date.”

The following activity has taken place in and around Arfryn Terrace since the local flooding events in recent years:

• Surveyed around 1km of ordinary watercourses and highway drainage infrastructure. This has been mapped and reviewed, resulting in targeted cleansing and repairs.

• Completed a Strategic Outline Business Case (SOC) for the community of Tylorstown. This has identified the case for change and the shortlist of options to mitigate flooding within the community.

• Completed a Business Justification Business Case for the community of Tylorstown. This has progressed the findings from the outline business case, and subsequently used to secure the recently-confirmed funding for the Full Business Case and detailed design stage.  

• Completed significant advanced works during the 2023/24 financial year. This project included improvements to headwalls and manholes, structural lining and upgrading of culvert networks, open channel improvements, and inlet upgrades. 

• Completed an interim property flood resistance project for those properties deemed to be at high risk of flooding. This project involved the loan of key equipment such as flood gates, air vents and aqua sacs, to mitigate the effects of further storm events in the community while the wider Flood Alleviation Scheme is developed.

• Installed additional remote telemetry units at key locations within the community. The work has provided CCTV units and water sensors to support the monitoring of water flow and the accumulation of debris. This is supporting maintenance and response activities in storm events.