Herefordshire Council is investing an additional £2 million over the next two years, as well as growing the in-house team, to improve the county’s flood resilience.
Flooding is increasingly a major issue within the county and it is vital that we intervene. The flooding of properties and roads causes not just enormous emotional duress, but has wide-ranging consequences on emergency services, public services such as schools, and the ability of our economy to plan and prosper; as well as damaging roads, sport grounds, and public assets.
The council is developing a flooding strategy which will drive how we will be investing in flood resilience and response capacity. It will cover areas such as improved response to flood events, investment in flood prevention and recovery, and better information about the role individuals and businesses can play in helping to prevent flooding. As the lead flood risk authority we will be working with other public or voluntary sector bodies, and indeed central government, to ensure a coordinated approach.
The £2 million will be invested in measures including additional community flood support and local flood resilience schemes, building on the already existing drainage grants that help with localised solutions.
Councillor Nick Mason, Cabinet Support Member, said: “I’ve spent the last months talking to many people who have been flooded or are in fear of it, often living in houses they thought “safe” and those experiences I’ve heard and seen are harrowing. But the reality is that every single resident and business in the county is affected either directly or indirectly by flooding – whether it’s your own property being flooded or delays caused by closed and damaged roads for example.
“We are committed to doing what we can to improve how our county copes with flooding, and to taking an exhaustive, systems, approach that really gets to the core of the issue. The strategy will look at how we can work better together with local communities to help prevent flooding and respond when needed. The commitment of £2m of capital funds means that we can address flooding sites with resolutions that will stand the test of time, and the growing team will mean we can respond quickly and effectively to flooding challenges.”