Morpeth (United Kingdom)

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	Location: Morpeth, United Kingdom
	Partner: University of Northumbria
	Partner involved: Universite catholique de Louvain and Healthnet TPO

Information:

Morpeth, United Kingdom:

Demography:

The County of Northumberland has a population of around 310,000, 49,000 of which live in the Morpeth district. 13,800 people (7,205 females, 6,628 males) live in the town of Morpeth itself distributed over 6304 households¹.

The population density in the town is 19.8 persons/hectare as compared to a low density of 0.61 persons/ha in Northumberland, which reflects the rural character of the county.

The majority of people (67.7%) live in one and two person households. Overall 35% of households in Morpeth have children and 20% of households are lone parent households.

Table 6.1: Household Sizes in Morpeth

*Type of Household*	*Number of Persons*	*% of households*
1 person living in Household	1884	31.2
2 people living in Household	2200	36.5
3 people living in Household	897	14.9
4 people living in Household	784	13
5 people living in Household	226	3.7
6 people living in Household	31	0.5
7 people living in Household	7	0.1
8 or more people living in Household	3	0.05

Note: Percentage figures may not add up to 100 due to rounding.
Source: 2001 census

4,850 (80%) of the dwellings in Morpeth are privately owned, while 993 (17%) are rented properties, and 89% of people live in an unshared house or bungalow, while the remainder (11%) live in flats or apartments. 80%. There are no people living in shared dwellings or temporary structures (e.g. caravans) in Morpeth.

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¹Morpeth town was made up of five electoral wards at the time of the 2001 census: Morpeth Central, Morpeth Kirkhill, Morpeth North, Morpeth South and Morpeth Stobhill. With the restructuring of the local administrative boundaries this has been reduced to four wards in 2007. However, as the demographic background in this report is mainly derived from the 2001 census, this will refer to information on the five former wards. The new divisions make no changes to the outer boundaries of the town itself.

Geography:

Morpeth is an ancient market town situated in a loop of the river Wansbeck in the northeast of England (see Fig 1.1) about 15 miles north of Newcastle upon Tyne and 12 miles west from the North Sea. Morpeth is the administrative centre for the County Council. The physical form of the town with its existing street patterns was established in mediaeval times.

Morpeth lies in the Wansbeck catchment area, a relatively small river catchment that covers 331km². The main reach of the Wansbeck has an active flood plain that is between 100m to 300m wide and the town itself is located within this floodplain. (EA, 2005).

The river has three main tributaries: the Font, which drains the Simonside Hills and contains a locally important water supply reservoir (Fontburn); the Hart Burn, a catchment of similar dimensions but shallower in gradient; and the Wansbeck itself. The three rivers combine within a 10km reach just west of the A1 trunk road, before flowing through the town of Morpeth. In Morpeth itself, the Wansbeck is joined by several small tributaries, namely, Cotting Burn, Church Burn and Postern Burn, all with catchments of less than 5 km².

There is almost no urban development west of the A1, thus the biological and chemical water quality of the Wansbeck is very good (Grade A) until it flows through the more developed areas east of Morpeth. (EA, 2005).

The topography of the catchment is decreasing from the hills in the west to the low?lying areas in the east but is overall relatively low with a maximum altitude of 345m AOD (Above Ordnance Datum: height relative to the average sea level at Newlyn, Cornwall UK). The underlying geology of the catchment is typical of catchments in the area with carboniferous limestone to the west, millstone grit in the centre and Westphalian coal measures to the east (including underneath Morpeth town). Drift geology around Morpeth is characterised by glacial sand and gravel to the north of the town and solid rock to the south. Most of the catchment drift geology (88%) is composed of glacial till. The dominant soil types are slowly permeable and clayey (surface water gley) and, as such, poorly drained and seasonally waterlogged causing rapid runoff in winter. As the underlying geology is largely impermeable, flood response in the catchment is mainly influenced by surface and soil water processes. (EA, 2005).

While geomorphological stability (resistance to erosion) in the catchment is generally high, the area around Morpeth has three identified sites with problems of sediment accumulation due to the following factors:

the drift geology around Morpeth itself is alluvium and glacial sand and gravel, which is easily erodible and less stable than till;
Morpeth is at the confluence of a number of rivers that have relatively high gradients and drain into the flat, low lying area around Morpeth, implying that the area may be susceptible to deposition;
the river is highly sinuous in Morpeth, which makes it potentially sensitive to erosion and deposition problems;
the channel widens in parts of the town;
Morpeth is an urbanised area where the channel has been modified by the installation of weirs (East Mill and Olivers Mill) and a flood alleviation scheme. (EA, 2005)

Land cover in the catchment is dominated by a largely agricultural landscape with woodland, managed grassland and arable land. Major urban and industrial developments (including Morpeth) are situated in the east of the catchment.

The area around Morpeth receives 740mm of standard annual average rainfall, which, however, is given to large annual and seasonal variations.

Economy:

The regional average gross disposable household income per person for the counties of Northumberland and Tyne & Wear in 2007 was 12,413 GBP, well below the national average of 14,317 (Office for National Statistics, 2009).

Morpeth, and its surrounding area, is popular with tourists (mainly �day trippers�) due to its being attractive for outdoor pursuits like walking, angling, etc. Morpeth town itself is appealing but does not offer many potential leisure activities. �The Council does not have a clear vision on tourism and how this contributes to improving the economic vitality of the area �(Audit Commission, 2006).

Table 2.1 Economic activity in Morpeth

	Number of persons	Percentage of population aged 16?74
Population aged 16?74	9951
Economically active persons	6190¹	62.2
Employed part time	1151	11.6
Employed full time	3921	39.4
Self?employed	638	6.4
Unemployed	279	2.8²
Full?time student	201	2

Economically inactive persons	3761	37.8
Retired	2037	20.5
Looking after home/family	527	5.3
Permanently sick/disabled	587	5.9
Student	407	4,1
Other	203	2

¹45% of population of Morpeth
²national average 5.5 in 2007 (Note: the national average is calculated for the age ranges 16–64 for men and 16–59 for women Source: 2001 census.

Table 2.2 Industry of employment

	Number of persons	Percentage of employed population
Agriculture, hunting and foresty	52	0.9
Mining and Quarrying	31	0.5
Manufacturing	616	10.5
Electricity, gas and water supply	57	1
Construction	352	6
Wholesale and retail trade, repairs	688	11.7²
Hotels and restaurants	275	4.7
Transport, storage and communications	299	5.1
Financial intermediation	181	3.1
Real state, renting and business activities	705	12
Public administration, defence, social security	610	10.4
Education	779	13.2
Health and social work	983	16.7
Other	260	4.4

Note: Percentage figures may not add up to 100 due to rounding.
Source: 2001 census.

91% of the working population work within a 20km radius of Morpeth. About half of these travel between 5 and 30 km to their place of work, implying that Morpeth itself has limited employment opportunities and many people commute to the more industrialised centres of Ashington, Blyth and Newcastle upon Tyne. 24% of households do not own a car, reflecting the large proportion of pensioner households in Morpeth (see Demographic Profile).

Morpeth is one of the wealthier towns in the northeast of England as indicated by the Multiple Index of Deprivation.

Health:

There are five doctors’ surgeries and one small NHS?run 83?bed community hospital in Morpeth.

Of the inhabitants of Morpeth in 2001 9,255 (66.9%) reported to be in good and 3,209 (23.2%) to be in fairly good health; 1,299 (9.4%) people described their health as not good, and 2,907 people (21%) reported that they suffered from a long?term limiting illness. This is slightly better than the Census reports for the northeast region and similar to the English average.

Life expectancy in Castle Morpeth Borough was 78.2 years for males and 80.9 years for females born between 2003 and 2005, which is slightly higher than the English average for the same period for males (76.9 years) but lower for females (81.1 years); it is higher than the northeast average for both males and females (75.4 and 79.8 respectively).

Premature deaths of people under 75 years in Castle Morpeth Borough from circulatory disease and cancer are lower than the regional and English average but mortality rates due to suicide are higher.

Education:

There are 12 schools, both primary and secondary, located directly in the town of Morpeth, including one special needs college for all ages. There are also a number of nurseries and pre–schools in the town. Educational achievements, i.e. quality of schools, are good in the district and considerably higher than in the northeast of England or England as a whole (Castle Morpeth Borough Council, 2007).

Religion:

Table 7.1 summarises the religious affiliations of the Morpeth population, with the majority (82%) being of Christian faith.

Table 7.1: Religious Composition of Morpeth Population

	*Christian*	*Buddhist*	*Hindu*	*Jewish*	*Muslim*	*Sikh*	*Other*	*No religion*	*Not stated*
Persons	11280	12	12	6	61	0	33	1621	805
%	81.6	0.09	0.09	0.04	0.44	0	0.2	11.7	5.8

Note: Percentage figures may not add up to 100 due to rounding.
Source: 2001 census

Language:

English is the main language in Morpeth.

Etnicity:

Ethnically, Morpeth town has a predominantly white population:

Table 5.1: Ethnic Composition of Morpeth (Source: 2001 Census)

	White			Mixed White	Mixed Other	Asian or Asian British	Black or Black British	Chinese	Other Ethnic Group
	British	Irish	Other
Persons	13.473	53	134	25	9	67	13	42	13
%	99			0.2	0.07	0.5	0.09	0.3	0.09

Disaster experience:

Short Narrative of Disaster Risk / Specific Information for Floods

Morpeth’s motto is ’Inter Sylvas et Flumina Habitans’ – ’Living amid the Woods and Waters’.

Flooding is the only major disaster risk in the Wansbeck catchment area and Morpeth is the main flood risk area within the catchment. Flooding has been a regular occurrence in Morpeth since the town was first built because of its location and the topographic and soil characteristics described above.

The main sources of flooding in the Wansbeck catchment have been identified as extremes in rainfall and snowmelt (on average 56% of precipitation is converted to surface runoff), with minor contributions from impenetrable (paved) surfaces and ageing municipal drainage networks in the town itself (EA, 2005; JBA, 2008). Furthermore, there are 1,139 properties located directly on the floodplain at present (EA, 2005).

Most floods in Morpeth occur in winter when the ground is already saturated and runoff increased but summer floods can occur due to localised summer storm events directly over the catchments of the smaller tributaries, which can cause localised flooding independent of the river levels of the Wansbeck (EA, 2005).

The catchment response time (time lapse between mid?point of storm rainfall and peak in river level) at Morpeth is eight hours.

Reliable historical data for flooding is available since 1839 and 18 flood events have been recorded.

Morpeth experienced its previously largest memorable flood event due to an unexpectedly rapid snowmelt in March 1963 when 503 properties (482 residential) were flooded. The return period of this event was estimated at 160 years.

Flood defences were built after 1963 to cope with river levels experienced in that particular flood but defences could not be built in some parts of the town because of local opposition.
Flood defences consist of walls and banks of varying heights (from 0.2–2.0m), which are inspected every six months and have been found to be in good to very good condition prior to the 2008 flood.

There is no historical data on the contribution of snowmelt to flooding in the Wansbeck catchment.
However, in the Tyne catchment (immediately to the south and west of the Wansbeck catchment) the snowmelt contribution to flooding was found to have been 14?20% between 1959 and 1969, and it is known that the 1963 flood in Morpeth had a significant snowmelt component. (EA, 2005)

Modelled flood risk of a 100?year event at Morpeth shows the likely broad extent of potential flooding events.

A flood?warning?scheme implemented by the Environment Agency is in operation and has a coverage of 95% of properties at risk in the Wansbeck catchment (EA, 2005). A Flood Warning Plan has been published by the Environment Agency and lays out in detail the flood warning codes and procedures.

Castle Morpeth Borough Council also implemented a number of awareness raising activities in collaboration with Northumberland County Council, the Environment Agency, Northumberland Fire and Rescue Service and Northumbria Police prior to the flood event to alert the population that a flood could happen and introduce emergency plans. The multi?agency Emergency Plan and Flood Action Plan are publicly available. A Recovery and Restoration Guidance Document has also been available since July 2007.

Two multi?agency flood exercises were carried out (October 2001 and October 2003) to prepare responders, familiarise them with emergency procedures and improve agency coordination.

An analysis of public awareness carried out after the 2008 flood event found that residents had been aware that a flood could happen but were not prepared for its severity; and only a minority of residents had made personal preparations to protect their property and themselves in case of emergency. Most people were also not aware of the Flood Action Plan.

Civil Instability

There are no civil instabilities in the UK.

Specific Information about the Disaster in Focus

Morpeth experienced a severe flood on 6 and 7 September 2008, when river levels exceeded the ones of the 1963 flood. The flood is currently estimated to have been a 1 in 100 year event but this has not been verified yet and might be significantly larger considering that the 1963 flood was estimated a 160?year event.

The flood was caused by heavy slow?moving storms, which gave the area one month�s rainfall (up to 140mm = 200?300% of average September rainfall � Table 11.1) in just 24 hours on a catchment already saturated due to greater than average rainfall during July and August (JBA, 2008).

Table 11.1: Rainfall Statistics for Morpeth 4–6 September 2008

Rainfall 4.908 (mm)	Rainfall 5.9.08 (mm)	Rainfall 6.9.08 (mm)	Rainfall Total 4^th–6^th (mm)	Return Period (years)	Percent of Sept Average (%)
0.8	80.7	70.8	152.3	>200	235

Source: JBA, 2008 (measured at Morpeth weather station)

Furthermore, prolonged rainfall over Morpeth coincided with the arrival of the flood peak from the higher areas of the catchment, which had received prolonged overnight rainfall. Structural failure of Highford Weir upstream of Morpeth likely further increased the volume of water flowing downstream (anecdotal evidence � JBA, 2008).

The Wansbeck River rose well above its banks and overtopped and damaged the town�s flood defences. A peak water level of 3.99 metres was recorded in the river channel, the biggest flow ever recorded in the Wansbeck. The huge volume of water also caused the drainage system to back up contributing to the flooding of the town, while the substantial structure of Oldgate Bridge obstructed the flow of the flood waters in the river channel and exacerbated flooding of the town.

At the peak of the flood, Morpeth High Street (Bridge Street) was under 0.6m (2ft) of water. Not since 1963 had the main street been flooded. The library suffered severe structural damage due to the heavy debris transported by the river.

An error made by the Environment Agency warning system meant that 200 people did not receive flood warnings, although the Environment Agency issued 22 Flood Warnings and 7 Severe Flood Warnings and successfully reached over 500 properties on 5 and 6 September. On average residents reported a duration of between one and three hours between receiving the first flood warning and water entering their homes.

During 6 September 2008, more than 400 residents were evacuated. However, delays in initiating evacuation after the first warning had been received and the speed of the onset of flooding meant that many evacuation routes had already flooded hampering the speed of evacuation and increasing the risk of injury and death for residents and rescue personnel. Firefighters, ambulance crews, the RAF (Royal Air Force), Mountain Search and Rescue teams and the RNLI (Royal National Lifeboats Institution) were among the emergency services involved in rescue and recovery operations over the weekend. The voluntary sector, e.g. Red Cross, were also heavily involved in rescue and recovery operations.

Shelter was provided in the Town Hall, King Edward VI High School and County Hall. Due to the flood happening over the weekend, Abbeyfields First School (which is identified as a rest centre in the Flood Action Plan) could not be set up as the contact person and key holder could not be reached.

Overall the flood caused direct damage to 1012 properties, including 913 residential properties of which 615 were “severely affected”². Many people were displaced and the economic damages are probably the greatest ever experienced in Morpeth (JBA, 2008).

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² Defined by Castle Morpeth Borough Council as “those properties where floodwater has entered the habitable area of property”

Reference:

Audit Commission (2006) Report Cultural Services Castle Morpeth Borough Council [online]: click here accessed: 19.04.2009
Castle Morpeth Borough Council (2007) Local Authority Area Profile: Castle Morpeth [online]: click here accessed: 20.04.2009
Environment Agency (2005) Wansbeck and Blyth Catchment Flood Management Plan Environment Agency, Bristol
JBA Consulting (2008) Flooding in Castle Morpeth 6 & 7 September 2008: Independent Review Draft Report, JBA Consulting, Northampton
Office for National Statistics (2009) Regional Gross Disposable Household Income Office for National Statistics, Newport
2001 census data available online: click here

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Morpeth (United Kingdom)