Cardigan Tidal Flood Scheme Consultation: Wall Alignment and Public Spaces

Overview

Natural Resources Wales (NRW) is developing a scheme to reduce the risk of tidal flooding in The Strand area of Cardigan. This area includes around 90 homes and businesses on the north bank of the Afon Teifi, which are at high risk during storm tides — a risk expected to increase with the climate crisis.

We want your views on a part of this plan.

What this consultation is about

We’re asking for your feedback on one section of the proposed flood wall — specifically, the westerly section between Cardigan Bridge and the bathroom centre.

We’d like to know:

• Which of two proposed wall alignments you prefer for this area
• Your preference and ideas for new public spaces that could be created following the construction of the flood defence.

Option 1 and Option 2

In both designs, the blue area shows the pavement, the orange area is the public amenity space, and the black line marks the flood wall.

On the river side of the flood wall, the light green area is a biodiversity zone with no public access.

In Option 2, a small light green area within the orange space is a publicly accessible green space.

Dark green circles show proposed tree locations, and red lines A, B, and C indicate the cross-sections shown below.

The height of the flood wall above pavement level will increase as the wall goes from the western side near Cardigan Bridge to the end of the public area near the eastern end of the wall in this section. It will be at ground level near the bridge (though with a wall or fence to show the edge of the footpath) and will gradually increase in height to nearly 2m high near the bathroom centre. This is to allow for the sloping ground level in the area.

More detail and cross-sections are available in the survey itself. Make sure to click through and have your say!

Why this matters

Cardigan has experienced several significant floods in recent years, especially from the sea (tidal flooding):

• In 2007, floodwaters reached over half a metre in places
• In 2014, tidal flooding hit 29 properties on St Mary’s Street and nearby roads
• Other flood events occurred in 2008, 2012 and 2014 (surface water)

Flooding causes real disruption and worry for local people and businesses. Our aim is to reduce the risk and make spaces that benefit the community and the environment at the same time.

We expect the climate crisis to cause more extreme weather conditions and increase the risk of tidal flooding. Because of this, we are designing the wall to provide a high level protection that takes into account 100 years of a changing climate.

What’s being planned

We have proposed to build a new flood wall that runs from Gloster Row car park, along the river, to Cardigan Bridge. In this consultation, we’re focusing on the section below Cardigan Castle, directly upstream of the old Cardigan Bridge.

We’re also exploring how to improve the public area adjacent to the wall, close to the bridge — a space that could offer social or cultural value alongside protection.

What NRW is responsible for

Flooding in Cardigan comes from four main sources:

• Tidal flooding - from the sea
• Surface water flooding - rain that can’t drain away
• Foul water flooding - from backed-up sewers
• River flooding (fluvial) - when the river overflows

NRW is responsible for tidal and main river flooding, so this project focuses only on tidal risk in The Strand area as the fluvial flood risk in this area isn’t so high. Other agencies are responsible for the other types of flooding:

• Welsh Water: foul water
• Ceredigion County Council: surface water and smaller rivers

What we've done so far

• In 2020, we began work on a tidal flood risk scheme for Cardigan
• We identified three key risk areas: The Strand, Mwldan, and the Cattle Market
• The Strand area was chosen for initial progression, as it’s at the highest risk
• We held early community engagement in 2022, which helped shape the design.
• We’ve completed an outline design and are now working on detailed plans with consultants Binnies

This consultation is part of completing that detailed design. Your input will help us make sure the scheme works for the community as well as reducing flood risk.

Timeline:

This consultation is a part of the Detailed Design Phase. We expect that this phase will be completed in early 2026.

As this project is classed as a major development, we will also be carrying out a statutory pre-application consultation before submitting a planning application.

You can find out more about this process by visiting:
Planning major developments: guidance on pre-application consultation | GOV.WALES

Once the design is finished and we have consulted on it, we will submit a planning application to Ceredigion County Council. If the application is approved, we will then apply for funding to construct the scheme.

If all permissions and funding are secured as planned, construction could begin later in 2026. This timeline is subject to change depending on the progress of planning and funding approvals.