District Council support to flood risk parishes and wards

Following on from last year’s two massive flood events during storms Babet and Henk, the District Council is making sure communities at risk of flooding are as prepared as they can be, through its Flood Resilience Scheme which supplies local communities with funds to purchase things such as Aqua Sacs and other flood supplies. There have been seventeen applications received so far under the scheme, and this number is expected to rise, with parishes and town councils being encourage to apply.

Councillor Paul Taylor, Portfolio Holder for Public Protection and Community Relations at Newark and Sherwood District Council, is urging parishes and towns to make the most of these grants, “Experience has shown us that we need to prepare for flooding as best we can, so we can act fast when water levels start to rise.  Communities should prepare themselves now by ensuring they have the supplies in place.  Therefore, as a District Council, we are doing everything we can to help our communities across the district to be prepared through our Flood Resilience Scheme.

“We sadly saw that new communities, not previously affected, suffered from flooding last year. For that reason, I urge local communities, parishes and towns to make sure they are protected as they can possibly be. Residents who are worried about the risk of flooding, should talk to their local flood warden and Parish or Town Council and take a look at our website which has advice on dealing with floods.”

In addition to the Flood Resilience Scheme, Newark and Sherwood District Council has been working closely with other partner organisations, such as Nottinghamshire County Council, Severn Trent, the Canal and River Trust and the Internal Drainage Board to develop a multi-agency approach to tackling the wider issue of flooding in Newark and Sherwood.

Councillor Taylor concludes: “Of course it’s important to prepare for flooding, but we shouldn’t be in a position in Newark and Sherwood where we have to live with this constant risk over our heads.  We will continue to do all we can to push for flood defence mechanisms in Newark and Sherwood and we are working hard to do all we can to fight for this on behalf of all our affected communities.  This won’t be a quick fix and so while we are doing that, we must hope and pray that any flooding we experience is not on the scale of what we saw last year.”