Newark and Sherwood District Council commits additional £100,000 to support flood alleviation

Lowdham has repeatedly and over a prolonged period suffered from flooding incidents from the Cocker Beck. The latest major incident took place in February 2020, during which over 100 properties were affected by flooding.

Flooding can have significant and dangerous impacts, not only for community safety but it is also extremely distressing for those affected as their homes and belongings become damaged and destroyed.

Newark and Sherwood District Council had already committed £200,000 towards the Lowdham Scheme. As well as delivering some strengthening to existing defences on the Beck, the Environment Agency has engineered a solution which would see the provision of flood storage up stream, and this was recently granted planning permission by the District Council.

Since the scheme was initially designed, there have been cost pressures that many sectors, including construction, have been subject to resulting in a shortfall of funding. The District Council has committed this additional £100,000 funding for Lowdham to help reduce the funding gap in order to improve community resilience, and potentially save response and recovery costs in the future.

The District Council also recently contributed £500,000 to the Southwell Flood Alleviation Scheme.

Councillor Paul Taylor, Portfolio Holder for Public Protection and Community Relations at Newark and Sherwood District Council, said: “This scheme is a priority for us, and I’m pleased to see further funding contributed for the residents of Lowdham. As we sadly know, floods can be detrimental to residents, whether it be damage to their homes and their businesses, or in serious cases their safety.

“One in six properties in Newark and Sherwood is at risk of flooding, and I want to also urge residents to make sure they check their flood risk and sign up to receive current flood warnings or alerts if they are at risk.”

Whilst flooding can be difficult to predict, residents can sign up to be alerted when flooding is possible on the GOV.uk website: https://www.gov.uk/sign-up-for-flood-warnings

The Council helps during flooding incidents by:

• helping to monitor local flood warnings
• coordinating local flood wardens and emergency stores
• offering help and advice
• providing sandbags for vulnerable people
• organising evacuations and emergency shelters if needed
• helping with flood recovery

To find out more about flooding advice and support visit: https://www.newark-sherwooddc.gov.uk/flooding/.