Second flood summit scheduled for Central Bedfordshire after severe flooding

Hosted by Central Bedfordshire Council, a number of its strategic partners attended the first summit in May, including the Environment Agency, the Bedford Group of Internal Drainage Boards, county emergency services, Anglian Water and Govia Thameslink Railway.

The summit focused on a multi-agency approach to collaboratively achieve realistic outcomes, according to a report to CBC’s sustainable communities overview and scrutiny committee.

It acknowledged the need for more resilience from each of their respective organisations, said the report. “The aim is to develop a strategic approach to address some of the historic issues and better manage situations as they arise, while recognising that resolving all incidents might be unrealistic.

“Several joint agency meetings have been held, for example between CBC and Anglain Water at Tempsford, where the flow of wastewater exceeded a pipe’s maximum capacity, with an interim solution identified.”

Parts of Leighton Buzzard, Dunstable, Flitwick, Cranfield, Marston Moretaine, Caddington, Sandy, Shefford, Stotfold and Tempsford were badly hit in September.

Areas affected by storm Henk in January included Leighton Buzzard, Blunham, Maulden, Clophill, Caddington and Tempsford.

There are several ways organisations can offer support to communities during flood events, via the community emergency response team (CERTS) and through land or property owners implementing mitigation measures, explained the report.

“As the lead local flood authority, CBC has a responsibility to record and report flood incidents under requirements set out in Section 19 of the Flood and Water Management Act 2010.

“Officers are investigating the nature and cause of flooding in Central Beds. That report will provide a concise review of the role of all the organisations with flood risk management responsibilities, and an outline of their past or proposed actions.

“This will include other relevant information and an outline of any recommendations, in line with the 2010 Act, to mitigate the further flooding risk as far as possible.

“By investigating and gathering data, we hope to create an evidence base for future decision-making across a range of organisations and access funding opportunities to help improve the resilience of our communities.

“The role of CBC highways is providing emergency support and assistance to road flooding,” added the report. “Maintenance programmes and improvement schemes are identified to help maintain surface water drainage networks.

“Where a functioning system is unable to cope under the pressure of extreme rainfall events, as in September, lessons learnt are gathered and further actions taken on a priority basis, where resources permit.

“Reports for each ward will be addressed on a street-by-street basis, with observations and recommendations for each party. These will be discussed at the next flood summit.

“Where the flooding source is attributed to an asset or system within the control of another flood risk management agency, CBC will work to ensure there’s an appropriate response.

“If we’ve identified flood risk associated with assets within private landowner control, we’ll ensure these are managed in keeping with relevant legislation. This includes ditch maintenance.”