Great Alne Parish Council has been working with its community to mitigate, alleviate and prevent flooding in the parish.
A survey was sent to residents in October 2023 to understand concerns and priorities for climate action and ‘making Great Alne Greener’. A clear outcome of this survey was a need to address flooding concerns. A Flood Action Group (FLAG) was formed by the Parish Council who prioritised resources to deliver the action residents wanted to see.
Great Alne Parish Council’s FLAG work progress includes:
- Successful application to SDC’s Community Climate Change Fund
- Engaging a contractor to clear out all of the gullies and drains in the main village and undertake CCTV investigations of the culverts. (The results will be shared with WCC Highways so that they can factor in any repairs that are required as a result of the investigations.)
- A Parish Council tender to engage a hydrologist
- Training of Drain Guardians – firstly through the Communities Prepared session on Flooding, followed by face-to-face training by WCC’s Highway Systems Technical Specialist Team on what a lengthsman (or FLAG volunteers) can/cannot do and basic health and safety. WCC also provided basic PPE for FLAG volunteers. Find out more about Warwickshire County Council’s Lengthsman Scheme
- Meetings with local landowners and farmers to discuss possible NFMs (Natural Flood Measures) on their land that proposed by the Warwickshire Wildlife Trust (WWT). This followed on from a joint walk over survey undertaken with the Parish Council in March 2024. So far, the response has been 100% positive from landowners and farmers. Assistance will be offered by WWT volunteers, as well as FLAG volunteers, to create the NFMS – subject to the landowners/ farmers permission.
At a meeting organised for surrounding parishes earlier this year, Great Alne PC provided a briefing on how all drains were referenced, baselined, and are regularly reported on using a traffic light colour scheme. The PC also shared practical steps to getting started with a Flood Action Group. Cllr Ian Taylor, Councillor lead for Flood Action, and Kyla Brown, Executive Oficer, are making these resources available to assist other parish and town councils.
Resources include:
- A Climate Action Group poster and slide from a Community Action Day in March 2024 to brief residents on climate action in Great Alne.
- Summary of work undertaken by Great Alne’s FLAG, for the purposes of engaging a hydrologist.
- A newsletter updating residents on the Flood Action Group’s progress.
- A Project Plan/ GANNT Chart as of July 2024, showing tasks and workstreams, allocation of responsibility of tasks and timeframe for completion.
- Latest Project Progress Plan circulated to councillors prior to the July 2024 PC meeting.
Contacts:
Great Alne Parish Council’s Executive Officer, Kyla Brown