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This page contains all the news updates from 2007, a new news page has been created for 2008 and can be found from the menu on the left of by clicking here.

Saturday 22nd December - Emergency contact number for Bellway Homes.

With more people returning home over the festive period there is a possibility of problems with services within the road that have not been used in the last few months. Last week Severn Trent had to attend to a blocked sewer that was affecting the entire estate. As the roads and sewers have not been adopted by the council yet they are still legally Bellway Homes property and responsibility.

Therefore if you experience any problems similar to this the first contact should be Bellway Homes emergency call centre on 0870 2385077.


The Gloucester Rotary Club Christmas parade was a real success with many families turning up at the entrance to Cypress Gardens to meet Santa, a huge thanks from the committee to all who helped arrange this visit.

Tuesday 18th December - Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue donate Christmas tree to the estate.

The Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Service have very kindly donated a Christmas tree and lights installed at the entrance to the estate as a welcome home to all the families already back or hoping to be back for Christmas. Thanks to Julian who has allowed the tree to be installed on his land.

Monday 17th December - You better watch out, cause Santa Claus is coming to town!

The Gloucester Rotary Club are planning on bringing their Christmas parade to Cypress Gardens this Friday at 6:15pm with special guest Santa Claus! All are welcome and we hope as many children as possible will be here to meet Santa.


Update from the council regarding the bridge between Cypress Gardens and Westmead Road.

The County Council agree that the removal of the bridge and replacement with a new bridge that does not restrict flow in the Horsbere Brook would appear to reduce the risk of flooding at that location in severe weather events. The bridge however is owned by Bellway Homes Ltd.

We will soon be meeting with Bellway Homes to discuss the adoption process so that in due course the bridge, roads and footways become the responsibility of the County Council. As part of the process we will be asking Bellway Homes to carry out the bridge replacement works.

I understand that the Environment Agency are also looking at the risks and benefits of removing the bridge. It is perhaps worth recognising that we estimate that the cost of the bridge works is likely to be between £100,000 and £150,000.


Tickets are still available for the new years eve street party, so far over 70 have been sold! Don't miss out, come and meet your neighbours and enjoy the only new years eve wellies party in Gloucester this year, open to all flooded residents from Cypress Gardens, Evergreen Walk, Clomoney Way and Greyhound Gardens.

Entry is £5 per adult or £10 for a family ticket which includes barbecued food, music and fireworks, there is also a prize draw for the best wellies! Please bring your own drinks.

To purchase tickets contact either Steve (01452 525919) or Jesse (01452 384258).

Thursday 13th December - Brook unnaturally high after no rain!

The brook was excessively high this morning causing major concern considering we have had no rain in the last few days. BBC Radio Gloucestershire had received several phone calls from residents along the brook, not just from Cypress Gardens, asking for information as to what had caused the rise.

The Environment Agency responded very quickly to these concerns and by 9:00am had found that a 800mm water main had burst upstream in the Hucclecote area which was flowing into the brook.

The sudden drop of the level of the brook (2 feet in 20 minutes) was due to Severn Trent Water fixing the pipe stopping the excess water from entering the brook.


Gloucestershire County Council has diverted £160,000 into drain clearance and repair following the summer floods.

Gloucestershire Highways have already started the work, which will focus on drainage repair and improvement in areas prone to flooding. The money is in addition to the £800,000 already spent on clearage and maintenance every year, and will be diverted from other services.

Six Gloucestershire Highways gangs have been out since Monday 3rd December, and the work will continue until March 2008.

Council leaders decided to put the money into tackling urgent but less complex drainage problems on the highway network following the summer floods. Local teams have prioritised the work based on frequency of flooding, safety to the road user and potential damage to property.

Councillor Julie Girling, Lead Cabinet Member for Environment said We’ve diverted resources to tackle those drainage problems that we know can be dealt with immediately. The programme we will carry out between now and the end of March will make a real difference to road users and residents right across the county. We are working hard on behalf of the people of Gloucestershire to bring more funding into the county to continue the long recovery after the summer emergency, but until then we have to prioritise those areas we think need it most.

While Gloucestershire Highways operates an annual drainage maintenance programme, since the summer’s floods teams have been hard at work carrying out additional clearing and jetting works.

In addition to the programme of ‘quick wins’, Gloucestershire County Council is leading a multi-agency team with a view to prioritising over 400 schemes that fall into the category of roads liable to flood, so that long term solutions can be found.

Tuesday 4th December - Committee publish Professor Richard Ashley's report into the flooding.

For the Tonight with Trevor McDonald television program, broadcast last Friday, Professor Richard Ashley produced a report into the flooding this summer. Professor Ashley has very kindly offered to continue supporting us, and as part of this the flood committee are able to publish this report.


The Environment Agency appear to have completed their work on the brook today removing the barriers and turfing the bank that has been built up along side Cypress Gardens. The flood committee don't believe any further work will be done until the computer modelling of the brook is complete, which is due early next year. Hopefully this modelling will prove what everyone seems to agree on, and that is the foot bridge between Cypress Gardens and Westmead Road needs to be removed to alleviate the artificial narrowing of the brook.

Saturday 1st December - Parmjit Dhanda MP replies to the committee regarding the foot bridge.

The Flood Committee contacted Parmjit Dhanda MP regarding the continued flood risk present from leaving the foot bridge between Cypress Gardens and Westmead Road in place. The following reply was received today.

Thank you for contacting me in relation to the footpath across the Horsbere Brook and lack of flood defences around the brook.

I am writing to inform you I have written to the Environment Agency in relation to the brook embankment and I will let you know of the Agency's response as soon as I have received it.

I have today received a response from Gloucestershire Highways regarding the footbridge across the brook and I have enclosed a copy of the Stakeholder Manager's response for your perusal. (copied below)

As your Member of Parliament I do not have any powers over the Gloucestershire County Council and it is the Council who are responsible for and will decide on any action taken over the footbridge. I would recommend you bring this matter to the attention of your elected County Councillor Kathy Williams.

Please do not heitate to contact me if you have any further queries.

Yours sincerely
Parmjit Dhanda MP

The following is the enclosed copy of the Gloucestershire Highways Stakeholder Manager's response

Thank you for your letter of 22nd November 2007 regarding the above.

The issue of the raised embankments not being adequate comes under the remit of the Environment Agency and should be addressed to them at their Tewkesbury Office.

The issue of the bridge and its effect on the water course is a complex one. I will need to counsult with a number of people before I can put forward and proposals regarding changed to the bridge if any.

The removal of the bridge will present some technical difficulties. There are significant concrete abutments supporting the bridge deck and also supporting the adjoining carriageway of Westmead Road. The costs of works at this location will be significant and far in excess of a couple of thousand pounds.

I have arranged to meet a structural engineer on site on Thursday 29th November to look at the feasibility of such works.

When I have further information I will contact you again

Yours sincerely
N. Peters

Wednesday 28th November - New Years Eve Street Party.

Get your best wellington boots out for the flood victims New Years Eve street party to be held in Cypress Gardens, open to all flooded residents from Cypress Gardens, Evergreen Walk, Clomoney Way and Greyhound Gardens.

Entry is £5 per adult or £10 for a family ticket which includes barbecued food, music and fireworks, there is also a prize draw for the best wellies!
Please bring your own drinks.

To purchase tickets contact either Steve (01452 525919) or Jesse (01452 384258).

Saturday 24th November - Community Engagement Events regarding flooding.

The flood committee have received the following information regarding community engagement events for members of the public to discuss issues including insurance claims, council tax refunds, obtaining second-hand furniture or white goods and mental health.

I am a freelance project worker currently undertaking work for Hester Hunt in the Chief Executive's Support Unit. I am arranging three community engagement events in Gloucester city.

Following discussions with officers, neighbourhood projects and residents' groups we have situated the venues in the areas in which people have been identified as still suffering the most from flooding, and which are relatively easy to access from other parts of the city. The format of these events will be the same as the flood drop-in sessions that have been held in several rural areas in the last two weeks. The dates/venues are:

Monday 10 December
4pm - 7pm Guildhall (cinema room)
Eastgate Street (Wesgate ward)

Tuesday 11 December
4pm - 7pm Tuffley Community Centre
Windsor Drive
Tuffley (Grange ward)

Friday 14 December
4:30pm - 7pm
Central Technology College
Cotteswold Road (Matson and Robinswood ward)

The aim of these events is to give members of the public the opportunity to talk to staff and Members about the flooding on a one-to-one basis. The rural drop-in sessions have highlighted the need for information, advice and signposting, for example around: insurance claims, council tax refunds, obtaining second-hand furniture/white goods and mental health (as a result of stress brought about by current circumstances and anxiety about it happening again).

We are arranging for representatives to attend from GCC Communications Team, the Flood Recovery Team, Emergency Management, Gloucestershire Highways, Health, Fire Service, Scrutiny Inquiry and City and County Councillors. We would also very much welcome local flood group representation at each of the events.


Final filming took place on Thursday the 22nd for the Tonigth with Trevor McDonald documentary into the flooding this summer. The flood committee have been heavily involved in the making of this program and will be publishing a report produced by Professor Richard Ashley for the program after it has been broadcast on Friday 30th of November at 8:00pm.


Several people have reported receiving a notice of court action from Severn Trent Water for not paying their water bill whilst not being able to live in their property. This has been proven to be an error and if you have received such a letter please contact Kelly who has direct contact details for the complaints department who are aware of this mistake.

Tuesday 20th November - Council backs findings from Inquiry report.

Gloucestershire County Council has welcomed the preliminary findings of an independent inquiry into the summer emergency.

The report, published today (Monday November 19th, 2007) is the culmination of the first formal stage of the Scrutiny Inquiry into the devastating floods and subsequent utility failures that affected the county in June and July of this year.

The Leader of Gloucestershire County Councillor, Cllr Barry Dare, said, The unprecedented sequence of events that unfolded in June and July rapidly turned into the biggest peacetime crisis ever faced by our community.

We know the people of Gloucestershire want answers as to why the repercussions were so severe and whether we could have done more to prevent them.

I hope the speed and thoroughness with which this inquiry has been conducted will reassure the public that we are equally determined to learn from what happened and that together with all our partners we are doing everything possible to speed up the recovery.

Hearings took place over an eleven-week period from August 29th 2007, when Gloucestershire County Council’s Overview and Scrutiny Management Committee commissioned the inquiry. The process followed a Select Committee style and was administered by the county council.

Written evidence was requested from a range of agencies and a total of 20 individuals and organisations were called as witnesses. The inquiry also sought to gather the views of the public through a questionnaire and a series of seven drop-in sessions were held at different locations around the county.

There were 643 responses to the questionnaire and 150 members of the public attended the drop-in sessions.

As a result, the Inquiry has produced 75 recommendations dealing with issues covering emergency management, future resilience of critical infrastructure, supporting people and strengthening community resilience and the planning process for new developments. These recommendations, along with the full report, will be presented to the county council on Wednesday (November 21st).

The chairman of the Scrutiny Inquiry, County Councillor Rob Garnham, said, As a result of the flooding in different parts of the UK, two national inquiries have been commissioned and the county council wanted to make sure that the views and interests of the people of Gloucestershire are fully represented at a national level.

But the work of this Scrutiny Inquiry is not yet complete. Within the recommendations are calls for ongoing work relating to planning issues and the establishment of a multi-agency task force to examine some of the issues still outstanding.

We want action plans produced and we will hold bodies to account if they fail to deliver on their promises. The people of Gloucestershire deserve nothing less.


In a continueing effort to keep people informed of progress the Environment Agency are making with the work on the brook the flood committee are proud to announce the installation of a Brook Web Cam.

This will provide images of the brook updated every 5 minutes (only available during daylight hours), so people who are currently living away from the area can see what is being done. It will also provide the ability to remotely monitor the height of the brook during periods of heavy rain in the near future.

Monday 19th November - Inquiry report is published.

The report from the scrutiny inquiry was published today, it contains a large number of recommendations for a range of organisations and agencies, these bodies are now being contacted to progress their actions. The flood committee will monitor these actions and publish there progress.

The full report is available online and can be downloaded here.
You will need the Adobe Reader to view this file, it can be downloaded free from www.adobe.com


Kelly has helped launched the county council's Your Essential Flood Guide this morning with Barry Dare, the leader of Gloucestershire County Council. Kelly has also been involved heavily with the construction of the guide.

It will be distributed to every home in Gloucestershire and contains information about the ongoing flood recovery operation, how to find out if your home is at risk and how to protect it plus health and safety advice, insurance advice and help with financial hardship.


The Environment Agency have been working for one week on the brook in Cypress Gardens now and the flood committee are concerned with what little progress is being made. According to the following press release the brook bank is only going to be built up by 30cm and there is still no information regarding the removal of the foot bridge which is a pinch point.

Environment Agency protects Cypress Gardens

This week, the Environment Agency started work along the Horsbere Brook, Gloucestershire, to build new defences that will help to protect Cypress Gardens, which was so badly affected by this summer’s floods.

The work, which will be carried out by our Operations Delivery team will include re-profiling the stream and the construction of a small earth bank, about 30cm high, along the brook. They expect to finish this work by the end of next week.

In addition to the work we are doing now, we are looking at what we could do to provide even better flood protection for this community in future. We will be looking to see whether we can provide defences that will protect the community from a flood with a 1% chance of happening in any one year.

Flood Risk Manager, Anthony Perry, says Cypress Gardens suffered badly during the summer floods this year and, as we do with all communities in a similar plight, we are looking at what we can do to help prevent it happening again.

We are already on site carrying out work that will improve the flows in the brook and raise the banks a little to provide more protection in the short term. We are also trying to identify other options that, in the longer term, might enable us to defend this community to modern standards.

While our work will reduce flood risk, flooding is a natural event that cannot be prevented completely. We urge people living nearby to prepare for flooding as there are things they can do to help reduce the damage and distress. Find out what you can do to prepare on our website www.environment-agency.gov.uk, or by calling Floodline on 0845 988 1188.

Although it appears the 30cm quote may now be a mistake it was only addressed after we expressed our concerns, and we are still fighting to have the foot bridge removed as flooding is still very possible due to this unnatural narrowing of the brook. After discussing the situation with the Environment Agency personal on site they also agree!

We urge you to contact the Environment Agency (anthony.perry@environment-agency.gov.uk) and Parmjit Dhanda MP (contact form) directly as soon as possible to express your concerns that the bridge is remaining. Whilst the Environment Agency is working on site they have the resources available to complete this task properly, once they leave it could be a considerable time before they return.

Wednesday 14th November - National Flood forum sessions for Crawford customers.

The national flood forum are running two flood surgeries next week for customers of Crawfords who were flooded in the summer and are having problems resolving their issues with them. If you would like to talk face to face with someone from Crawford about any queries then you are welcome to attend either of the following sessions.

Wednesday 21st of November
Tewkesbury Council Offices
Lincolm Green Lane
Tewkesbury
Gloucestershire
GL20 5TT
3pm till 7pm
      Thursday 22nd of November
Gloucester Guildhall
Eastgate Street
Gloucester
GL1 1NS
3pm till 7pm

The Environment Agency have cleared the sides of the bank removing the bushes that were planted in the corner behind Clomoney Way and to the left of the foot bridge running parallel to Cypress Gardens. The major earth work is scheduled to start tomorrow and last for two weeks. Further details will be published when the flood committee have them.

Monday 12th November - Work on the brook should commence this week

The Environment Agency have promised the flood committee that after unforseen delays work on the brook in Cypress Gardens and Evergreen Walk is due to start this week. The sandbag wall that was built up after the second flood was removed today in preporation for this work.


Following our last public meeting we have set up a bank account for the flood committee. The funds donated to the account will be used to reimburse committee members for out of pocket expenses, to pay for specialists to investigate issues if necessary, to pay for photocopying of documents to name a few things. All of the committee members are signatories on the account and Vicky Kemp will be the treasurer.

The account has been opened with an incredible donation of £500.00 from Brooklyn Toyota.

If you would like to make a donation to the fund please find the details below;

    Account Name - Longlevens Flood Committee
    Account Number - 01486934
    Sort Code - 40 17 53
    HSBC, 109 Bath Road, Cheltenham, GL53 7RA

Thursday 8th November - Virginia and colleagues from the Royal College of Art return tomorrow (Friday 9th November)

We have been very busy generating concepts, and will be coming to test some of our prototypes with the people of Longlevens on Friday November 9th.
We'll arrive there around noon and stay till the evening. We want to know what you think.

Also, thanks very much to those of you who have sent back the postcards we distributed--there have been some great ideas. But we need more. Please, those who haven't sent the cards, send them along.


A questionnaire is being sent to the homes of Longlevens residents from ITV current affairs series Tonight with Trevor McDonald which will be featuring the summer floods on a forthcoming programme. The committee have been working hard with the programmes producers and request that as many people as possible complete these questionnaires.

Programme makers want to highlight issues that emerge from the survey when it interviews the insurance industry later this month. If you need any further information or want an email version of the questionnaire, you can contact Assistant Producer Dave Raddings at Tonight on email dave.raddings@granadamedia.com or call him on 0161 827 2804.

Saturday 27th October - News round up from the past week

Virginia and three colleagues from the Royal College of Art came to Gloucester on Sunday the 21st. They met with several residents including Vicky, Leia and Julian, along with Councillor Kathy Williams and members of the emergency services. They had a productive visit and are likely to be visiting us again.


Members of the committee met with Rob, Martin and Ken from Gloucester Rotary Club following our our grant application of £20,000 being approved. We have found out that the playground update will cost considerably more than this and we are going to be applying for a larger sum of money to try to ensure the make over is as best as it can be.


The public inquiry completed on Thursday with significant media coverage including a live interview on ITV Points West with Kathy Williams in Cypress Gardens.

A report will be made which will go before the Overview Scrutiny Management Committee early November and then will be presented to the Council on 21st of November. The findings will go to Sir Michael Pitts for him to consider in his inquiry. The council shall decide through scrutiny on the work which has to be done to ensure answers are obtained and also acting on information residents have provided in the public drop in sessions.

Kelly Bartlett from the Flood Committee was called as a witness to the inquiry, her presentation at the enquiry went very well. "I put across all of our problems and asked for quick solutions and a combined effort from the agencies involved. Thanks to Kerry, Julian and Dave for their support."


The following information has been received by the flood committee from the Environment Agency regarding the work that needs to be performed on the brook.

I am sending this email to keep you and the flood group updated as to the progress of the Environment Agency works at Cypress Gardens. Channel works will be commencing towards the end of next week, this will ensure maximum conveyance / capacity can be achieved along the watercourse.

Improvement works to the downstream road bridge have been agreed between Severn Trent Water, Highways Agency and the Environment Agency, the work involves the Environment Agency using its permissive powers to remove excessive silt.

With regards to the earth bank, we have completed the level survey and design, this has enabled us to apply for the legal permissions required to undertake the works, I expect that all permissions should be obtained within 2 weeks.

During the survey we have identified that the footbridge may be causing a restriction to flow along the channel and I have asked my Engineers to undertake an analysis of local flows (micro model) to assess the footbridges impact on flows. This work should take 2 weeks and will help provide a more detailed picture of the flooding issues along this section of the brook.

Tuesday 16th October - Problems with anti-social behaviour on the estate

Over the last week there have been several incidents of anti-social behaviour on the estate and surround roads including an attempted burglary.
The police are taking these incidents very seriously, including investigating the installation of CCTV and increasing their nightly patrols.

Two incidents have been opened covering criminal damage to a property and a car. On Thursday the 11th there was an attempted garage burglary in Westmead Road by four youths wearing hoodies even after they had established the owners were in the property. The incident number is 569 for the 11th of October.

The second incident involved a sandbag being thrown on a car in Cypress Gardens again whilst the owner was home. The incident number is 194 on the 14th of October.
If you can provide any information regarding these incidents please contacts the police on 0845 090 1234

With the darker evenings neighbourhood watch becomes even more important. Please take time to look out for other peoples property and don't hesitate to ring the police if you believe something is wrong.


Kelly has been called today by the President of the Gloucester Rotary Club, Rob Hall, to confirm that we have been awarded £20,000 as a grant towards the redevelopment of the playground. More news to follow on this soon!

Kelly is also meeting Sir Michael Pitt tomorrow along with several cabinet office representatives. Sir Michael is leading the national Government enquiry into the floods. He is hoping to ascertain exactly the scale of the floods in Longlevens.


Post-graduate design researchers from the Royal College of Art to visit on Sunday 21st

We are hoping your community might be able to help us with our research. We would like to speak with people who suffered due to summer floods and learn about ways that design could help protect them, their loved ones, homes and belongings in future floods.

We will build a brief and prototype a design solution to be shown at the Royal College of Art Interim Show. It's a big event for media and industry, and there is a good chance that our design could become a reality and make a difference for flood victims. Besides the larger infrastructural projects going on, we feel there is a need for smaller scale, more immediate solutions. But first we need help from you in developing our project.

The above message was received by the committee from post graduate designers researchers from the Royal College of Art hoping to meet as many residents as possible on Sunday 21st. They intend on being in Longlevens all day and if you can spare some time to meet up with them please e-mail Kelly who is arranging times with them.


Stress survey being conducted by the University of Worcester

The Department of Psychology and Health Sciences at the University of Worcester is in the process of assessing the impact of the recent floods in your area. We are assessing the level of distress and any difficulties you may have experienced in relation to the floods and to find out about how you have coped.

If you have been affected by the flood either directly or indirectly, are 18 years of age or over, and would like to consider participating in our study we would like you to contact us by e-mail: floods2007@worc.ac.uk or telephone: 01905 85 7531 or 01905 85 5246 and leave your name and postal address. We can then send you further details and a study pack in the post.

The information you provide us will help increase our understanding of the impact of the floods. We will be able to use this information to establish guidelines for health and social care providers in how they respond to this and future environmental events.

Thank you for your time.
University of Worcester Floods 2007 Project team

Thursday 4th October - Kelly met with Martin Greaves (Rotary Club), the council and Sutcliffe (the park installation company).

The Rotary Club are applying for a grant of £20,000 to help us to update the park across the brook.

This has been agreed as the best solution as the council will continue to maintain it once the money has been spent. The outline idea at this stage is to install safety flooring, repaint the fencing, remove the two units that used to have slides and replace these with new equipment.

The grant has not been agreed yet and the plans that Sutcliffe put together will go forward with our application.

We will keep you posted!

Wednesday 3rd October - Details of the inquiry passed to the committee.

The committee have received details regarding the inquiry including the terms of reference and the agenda, a new page has been added to this site to list details relating to the enquiry. The inquiry page will contain the details provided in full, however key headline points will still be listed on the news page


The council have confirm details on the intermediate measures that are going to be made to the brook by the Environment Agency in the coming weeks.
This work is intended to provide an increased level of protection to Cypress Gardens and Evergreen Walk whilst the full water flow analysis phase is taking place. The work will include straightening the brook between the Clomoney Way bridge and the first foot bridge in Cypress Gardens and raising the side of the bank to the level of the sandbags.

This work is scheduled to commence within the next four weeks, neither the Flood Committee or Council have any details on when the full protective measures will be implemented

Monday 1st October - Inquiry Panel drop in session announced.

The council have published details of a drop in session of residents to meet the inquiry panel on Tuesday 16th October at the North Warehouse, The Docks between 18:30 and 20:30 where residents can come to meet members of the inquiry panel and tell them of the problems or concerns they have regarding the floods, the water restriction, lack of power etc. Answers cannot be given by the councillors but we shall include what residents concerns are in the inquiry scrutiny process. This is an information gathering process.


Due to committee members being abscent recently this site has only been updated with critical information, to keep you up to speed on what your Flood Committee are doing we have produced a quick update to help keep you informed.

  • Kelly is meeting the Gloucestershire Rotary Club again on Thursday at 10:00 along with Council respresentatives regarding the grant to either improve the childrens play area or errect a new one.
  • Each house that was flooded should have received a flood questionnaire to aid in providing information back to the inquiry. The closing date for these to be returned was today so hopefully as may of you as possible completed them.
  • The Flood Committee bank account is in the final stages of being setup, once it is active we will publish details on how to donate to it.
  • Kelly Bartlett has been invited to attend the inquiry as a witness.
  • The Flood Relief funding is starting to make payments to flood victims. It appears that residents are being paid enough to cover their excesses.

Brook walk with Anthony Perry from the Environment Agency
Kelly and Steve (along with Kathy Williams, Alastair Cameron and a few residents) met with Anthony today and walked the brook from the pumping station up to Greyhound Gardens. A full explanation has been given about the works taking place in the interim to try to improve defences for Cypress Gardens and Evergreen Walk, that will not have a negative impact on the other surrounding roads.

The brook is to be straightened between the bridge of Clomoney Way and the first bridge within Cypress Gardens. Furthermore, the bank will be built up to a height similar to the height of the current sand bags. This will provide a better level of protection. This is only a short term solution. The Environment Agency will be working on models of the brook over the next few months and hope to have their conclusions by Christmas. Decisions will then be made as to the correct form of defences to choose and how to find adequate funding. There are solutions but the long term improvements are still some way off. It was a positive meeting and we feel that we will get answers and we are pleased that an interim plan has been approved. Works will be starting in the next month.

On another note Bellway Homes have now installed the required valve to the storm drain that expels into the brook. This should have taken place before the development was signed off.

We will be keeping in touch with the EA and they will be attending the forthcoming inquiry.

drain valve meeting between committe and EA
meeting between committe and EA

The Flood Committee are still working hard to get answers and have work done that will reduce the risk of flooding to our homes, if you have any questions please get in contact with us. We appreciate things appear to have slowed down but we are working in the background and pushing as hard as we can. Once we have any information available from the inquiry we will publish it here and in our next hard copy news letter.

Wednesday 26th September - Kelly met with Martin Greaves of the Gloucestershire Rotary Club.

We have put in an application as a committee for a grant from the funds recently raised by the celebrity fashion show organised by Naomi Campbell. We have applied for either the current play area to be improved and updated or for a new play area to be erected as a positive change for the children that have been affected by the floods.

Friday 21st September - John Healey MP responds to the Flood Committee.

The following letter was received by the Flood Committee from John Healey MP in responce to a letter Kelly Bartlett produced asking questions of the assistance the government is going to provide in helping recover from the floods, and raising questions regarding why it was allowed to happen.

Dear Kelly

Thank you for your email of 7th July in which you've detailed your experience of the recent flooding in Gloucester, and the activities of your Longlevens flood committee. I am sorry for the delay in replying. I have detailed below Governments flood recovery activities that have carried out in recent weeks.

I and my fellow ministers have been keen to ensure we visit flood affected areas to witness for ourselves the circumstances and impact of these events to enable us to understand the ongoing issues and problems for people and local authorities during recovery. I myself have recently visited Gloucester as part of this programme.

In your email you also outline planning issues you want addresses, and I understand that you have now begun the process of engagement with your County Council, along with your local MP Parmjit Dhanda to discuss these issues.

The Goverment shares the public concern for the plight of those affected by the recent flooding. You will be pleased to know that the total support offered so far is over £46 million in addition to existing schemes such as the Wellwin Scheme. Flood recovery is a government wide effort and, as part of the overall package of support to authorities, departments are working together to ensure that their assistance is provided in the most timely and appropriate way.

Lessons Learned Review
It is vital that we learn lessons now about how to manage and respond to this type of disaster in the future, including both those aspects that have worked well and those areas that need to improve.

You may be aware of the announcement made on the 8th of August by Secretary of State for the Environment Hilary Benn, regarding the lessons learned review. It will be lead by the Independent Chair, Sir Michael Pitt Chair of the South West Strategice Health Authoirty. It will seek views from those who suffered from the impact of the flooding, including affected residents, businesses and public organisations, such as schools and hospitcals, as well as those involved in the emergency response.

Monday 17th September Severn Trent announce drop in sessions.

In tonights Citizen Severn Trent Water have listed drop in sessions from residents to talk about the recent flooding incident leading to the loss of water supply. You can talk to staff about the incident from the cause and management, to the lessons taken from it. For our area it is on Wednesday 19th of September at the Oxstalls Tennis Centre from 6-9pm.

Thursday 23rd August - Gloucester Carnival Reorganised for Sunday 16th of September.

The Gloucester carnival that usually takes place in July had to be cancelled due to the floods. The council have set a new date of Sunday 16th of September at 3.30pm. They are going to use this as a fundraiser for the Flood Relief Fund and as an opportunity for people in Gloucester to thank the emergency services and military for everything they've done over the last few weeks - the fire service, police, Army, RAF and Navy etc. will all take part.

Go to http://www.gloucester.gov.uk/Content.aspx?Urn=3940 for more details.


Changing schools due to the floods.

If you have moved house because of the recent flooding and your children need to change school, or you've moved and need help getting to your existing school, then Gloucestershire County Council can help. Contact the School Admissions Team on 01452 425407/8 as soon as possible so that we can ensure your child is able to go back to school in September. If you already get special travel arrangements call the Transport Entitlement Team on 01452 425390


Chris Wales from Brooklyn Toyota Hereford pledges £500.00 towards committe funding and offers assistane for flood victims in buying new and used cars.

Firstly I would like to thank you and the rest of the committee for the time and effort that you are giving for the benefit of all the residents.

Unfortunately due to work commitments I don't have the time to spare to help on a day to day basis, however what I would like to do is to help by way of a financial contribution. Last night, towards the end of the meeting the subject was briefly discussed. What I would like to do is pledge £500 from my company "Brooklyn Toyota Hereford" towards the costs that you have already and will in the future encounter in the pursuit of justice.

If you can let me know how you would like paying, whether it be in the form of a cheque to a committee member (I will need a receipt) or if you are going to set up a separate fund with a bank account? I can also offer help for any resident that has had their car effected by floodwater.

If they have had their vehicles written off by the insurers, then I will allow them to purchase a new Toyota car at cost price. If a new car is beyond there means, then I will do my best to help on the purchase of a used car in stock, we have cars from £1500 upwards to £45000 catering for all budgets. The offer of a cost price car can only be extended to affected residents, I cant afford to do it for just anybody, so maybe it might be possible to 'validate' any claim with the committee first? If any resident requires advise on motoring issues, for example possible damage that could have been caused or whether an insurance offer is reasonable, I would be more than willing to help and advise.

Anyone that needs advise, please pass them my mobile number or email and I can see what I can do.

Chris Wales
Dealer Principal
Brooklyn Toyota Hereford
Direct Line 01432 371918
Mobile 07973 663531
E-mail chris.wales@brooklyn.toyota.co.uk

Tuesday 21st August Residents Meeting.

Resident's meeting held at the Longlevens Community Centre. A well-received meeting took place this week between the committee and affected residents. There were approximately 80 residents at the meeting along with Councillor Kathy William’s and Councillor Paul James.
The agenda was to update everyone on findings and decisions since the last meeting and to try to help anyone experiencing particular difficulties.

Points covered -
  • Update from emergency meeting at Shire Hall - 13/06/2007.
  • Explanation about the Witcombe Reservoir, where the Horsbere Brook originates.
  • Photographs, table and findings from the planning office regarding the development of Cypress Gardens and Evergreen Walk.
  • Feedback from the Environment Agency (EA), a walk of the brook with both the EA and the committee is due to take place shortly.
  • There was also given an update on insurance. Representatives from the insurance industry have been working with us to see if they can establish a cause to the flood. They are keen to build an accurate picture of which different insurers are working in the area. If you are happy for us to pass these details on, please email ASAP stating which insurer you're cover is with (in the case that you're buildings and contents is with different insurers - please quote both).
  • Financial help -
  • Professor of Urban Drainage has agreed to help us, above and beyond a TV programme that has commissioned him.
  • Discussion about residents helping the committee for out of pocket expenses such as phone bills, photocopying, paper, mileage…etc. There were many questions, a lot, of which the committee will continue to endeavour to get answers for. Thank you to all the residents who attended.

Thursday 2nd August - £2 Million Flood Fund for Small/Medium Businesses.

The South West of England Regional Development Agency is making available up to £2m as an emergency fund to help support those businesses hit most severely by the current flooding chaos.

Download the full details in MS Word document format by clicking on the icon below, if you are unable to open MS Word documents please contact peter.cox@longlevens-flooded.co.uk who will send the file content in a plane text e-mail.

South West Flood Fund

Letter of thanks received by the flood committee regarding the recent visit of Princess Anne

Thank you very much for your help with the rather changable and hurried Royal Visits on Friday. It was a great comfort to know that I could rely on your support when I know that you had plenty of other things to worry about as well. The visits were very popular and seemed to go down very well.

A special thanks for rounding up the Longlevens residents and for guiding The Princess Royal amongst them. I am sure that they appreciated her sympathy and understanding of their problems.

Friday 27th of July - Princess Anne visits Cypress Gardens.

Local residents and members of the flood committee met Princess Anne today to show the destruction caused by the flooding to properties in and around Cypress Gardens.

More pictures are available under the Photos 20/7/07 gallery

Princess Anne meets local residents Princess Anne meets local residents

Thursday 26th of July - Council tax waived for flood victims.

The council have confirmed verbally that they are considering waiving council tax for anyone who is unable to live in their home after the flooding.
The numbers to get through to the council tax office are 01452 396493 or 01452 396495.


Police implement 24 hour guard of Cypress Gardens.

After several reports of suspicious individuals seen in Cypress Gardens and Evergreen Walk in the early hours through the last few days, the police have implemented 24 hour guard of the estate to protect the homes left empty after the flooding. On behalf of all residents the flood committee would like to extend our thanks to the local police for this protection and the comfort it brings.

Wednesday 25th of July - Can you help in Longlevens?

Volunteers are requested to help with the on going efforts to deliver drinking water and supplies to the elderly and non-abled bodied people of Longlevens.
If you can help please go to the emergency room at Holy Trinity Church Hall in Church Road Longlevens, there are also portable toilets and facilities available if you require them.

Monday 23rd of July - New photo gallery added for July floods of Greyhound Estate.

The current flooding across the country is dominating the press, to allow the fortunate people who are not affected by the flooding to see what we are going through, as well as allowing residents to share their images a new gallery has been added to this site. Although the weather we experienced last Friday was unprecedented this second flood goes a long way to reinforce the flood committee's concerns that the events where made worse by mistakes and unfinished work by the various agencies involved.

Sunday 22nd of July - Resident power removes brook obstruction.

Residents of Cypress Gardens, Greyhound Gardens and Clomoney Way removed the scaffolding pipes and barbed wire that blocked half the brook downstream of Clomoney Way opening up the brook, hopefully improving the flow under high water conditions.

The flood committee are now pushing the Council to address the problems of the bridges and other obstructions within the brook as these still leave the estate open to risk of further flooding

Friday 20th of July - Longlevens hit again, but more wide spread and deeper!

The flood waters returned, but not just via the brook this time. Greyhound Gardens became a river damaging cars and houses well away from the previous flooding.

    Local churches have reiterated their offer of shelter, food and someone to talk to for anyone affected by the flooding, contact details can be found on the contacts page.
    They have also stated that if people need items on loan whilst they are out of their houses to ask as certain items can be made available.

STOLEN
During the commotion of the flooding a moped was stolen from Ballinska Mews at approximately 4:30pm, registration N175 PUC.
Click the image on the right to see large photos of the moped, note the moped does not have the white backbox or front fairing/leg guard shown in the photos.
If you saw someone with a moped around this time that looked suspect please can you get in contact with the local police on 0845 0901234 quoting incident number 615 21/7/07

Stolen moped

As a reminder to all residents, please keep a look out in your area, neighborhood watch is never so important as in times like this when peoples houses are vulnerable.

Tuesday 17th of July - Broken gas main removed.

The Environment Agency removed the old broken gas pipe from the brook on Saturday the 14th of July. A new solid pipe has been installed today that follows the outline of the bridge reducing the risk of it blocking the water course and improving safety as children have been seen playing with the temporary plastic pipe.

Gas main removal

Environment Agency publishes initial findings.

The Evironment Agency sent a copy of its initial findings to the flood committee today for publication via the news letter and this web site. The report is a brief set of findings from the questions raised at the council meeting that could not be answered on the day.

The Evironment Agency have also agreed that all future findings will be made available for publication, the committee are hoping the other agencies involved in the investigation will offer the same agreement.

Flooding at Longlevens

Horsbere Brook

Horsbere Brook is one of a number of watercourses within the Urban Gloucester system, which is designated High Risk. This means that the density of property at risk of flooding is greater that 25 properties per kilometre of watercourse. As we have no raised defences on this part of the Horsbere Brook, we do not carry out a formal inspection of the channel.

However, the channel is routinely patrolled by our field team in order to clear blockages and larger items of debris which could cause blockages. During the past year we will have carried out several of the above debris runs. We have also carried out the removal of trees within the channel between Cypress Gardens and Oxstalls Lane, including the removal of a large collapsed elder bush adjacent to Cypress Gardens. This work was carried out on behalf of Bellway Homes, who had vacated the site without completing all of their obligatory work.

We have investigated the ownership of the services crossing the brook encased in concrete, but have been unable to identify the owner or installer. Bellway Homes denied all knowledge of it. We have also pursued Bellway Homes to reconstruct the unconsented outfall so that it does not protrude into the main flow of the channel.

Subsequent to the recent flooding we have carried out a number of debris runs and have also removed the now disconnected gas pipe encased in concrete from across the watercourse.

We have been asked not to remove the unconsented fencing upstream of Cypress Gardens, as this stops children running between the estates, yet this also presents a reasonable flood risk.

Monday 16th of July - Letter received from HM The Queen.

The following letter has been passed to the committee to share with residents affected by the flooding from HM The Queen

HM Lord-Lieutenant, Henry Elwes, has received a message from The Queen regarding the recent floods and joins her Majesty in expressing his shock at the devastation caused and hopes that Gloucestershire people will suffer no further loss to homes, farming and family life.

HM The Queen, says: "I have been shocked by the news and pictures of the devastation caused by the severe flooding across the country. My thoughts are with those who have lost family or friends, whose homes and livelhoods have beed damaged, and all those who have been displaced by these events. May I also express my admiration for the emergency services, the local authorities and volunteers working tirelessly to help those affected. To everyone concerned with the relief effort I send my heartfelt thanks."

The date on the original letter was the 28th of June 2007

Saturday 14th of July - Flood Committee feedback from the council meeting yesterday.

Attendees at the meeting;
Councillor Kathy Williams - Chair
Parmjit Dhanda MP
Kelly Bartlett – Residents Committee
Andy Bateman - Residents Committee
Paul Galland – Gloucestershire County Council
Eddie Coventry - Gloucestershire County Council
Nick Peters - Gloucestershire County Council (Highways)
Councillor Susan Jones
Chris Griffin – Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Service
Inspector Carole Ajinka – Gloucestershire Constabulary
Greg Powell – Bellway Homes
Stephen Branchett and Rex Thomas – Environment Agency
Paul Gregory and Mark Mills – Severn Trent Water
Phillip Lane – Gloucester City Council
David Puchase- PA to Parmjit Dhanda MP

The meeting on the whole was very positive for us. Andy and myself were given an open forum to ask all of our questions to the agencies present.

For the answers that couldn’t be given or weren’t known we have been given assurances that we will get them. Agreement was reached that a scrutiny of processes will take place leading to a local, independent inquiry; this will ensure that the true reasons for our flood are uncovered.

There appears to be numerous contributory factors to our disaster. All issues connected with each agency were posed and discussed.

Our local MP, Parmjit Dhanda, was very supportive and we are confident that this support will be sustained for the entirety of our campaign. Unsurprisingly, Councillor Kathy Williams was a strong speaker and added weight to our points.

As we find out more information from the agencies present we will update you. Please be assured that as your committee we will continue to press concerns and keep our disaster at the forefront of the minds and agendas of the council, local and national government, the press and all of the connected agencies.

Please feel free to email any concerns or questions to any of the committee members and we will do our best to assist you.

Many thanks,
Kelly Bartlett


Friday 13th of July - Council meeting deemed a success.
Kathy Williams, Gloucestershire County Councillor for Longlevens chaired the meeting, she said: "We had a constructive meeting with residents from Longlevens affected by recent floods. All of the agencies involved attended and resident representatives presented their questions and concerns. We have agreed that Gloucestershire County Council will now set up a scrutiny inquiry looking at what happened, how the agencies responded and what lessons can be learned for the future. Residents, local councils and all agencies are committed to working together to learn from the extreme events of 25th June 2007."

The flood committee are now collating the notes from the meeting and will publish a report for the residents in the next few days. This report will be both posted online and delivered in hard copy to all houses affected via the next news letter.


Flood committee meet Parmjit Dhanda MP.

The flood committee met up with Parmjit Dhanda MP prior to the council meeting this morning to show him first hand the devastation caused to the houses on the estate by the flooding, the state of the brook and the drains along with the temporary gas mains repairs next to the foot bridge between Evergreen Walk and Westmead Road.

MP meets residence MP sees damage first hand

Wednesday 11th of July - Letter received from Parmjit Dhanda MP.
The following letter was received by residents of Cypress Gardens through the post today, other roads may also have received a copy but its unknown at this time how far the mail shot went.

Dear resident,

I am writing to you in connection with the severe weather and flooding that has occurred in your neighborhood.

Although a few residents have contacted me on this issue I want to ensure you have my full contact details so I can assist you on a one-to-one basis should you need further support.

As you may be aware, the community around Ennerdale Avenue has campainged vigorously with me in recent years to get a pumping station installed. However, I am disappointed that the pumping station does not appear to have been effective enough at its job, and I am urgently taking this up with Severn Trent on your behalf in the hope a repeat can be avoided.

The pump serving the community around Cypress Gardens appears to have been without back-up and was unable to fulfill its role - hence I am also taking this up with Servern Trent on your behalf.

I have written to your local council in order to ascertain whether they have bid for any additional resources to support the local community so I can follow it up with a meeting with the flooding minister and I will aim to keep you abreast of the discussions.

My office has also obtained a stock of leaflets about crisis loans and commuinity care grants for those in serious need, so please do feel free to contact me on 311870 if you would like one of those leaflets.

Finally, although I know that we have seen freak weather in recent weeks, I am very concrned that more could and should be done to address the underlying issues of standing water in your local area, and I would be happy to receive your comments on the matter.

I look forard to hearing from you.

With best wishes,

Yours sincerely

Parmjit Dhanda MP
Member of Parliament for Gloucester



First Flood Committee news letter published.

All houses affected by the flooding will shortly be receiving the first Flood Committee news letter. Due to so many people having to live away from their properties the letter is reproduced below, and all subsiquent news letters will also be published online and in hard copy.

What’s Happening?
We as a committee are having a meeting on Friday 13th July 2007 with all the emergency key bodies, the main aim of this meeting is why the flooding happened, who is responsible for it and what needs to be done to stop it happening again.

When we have any answers you will of course be informed.

What can I do?
Who are you insured with? Could you please let us have this information as soon as possible. email: vicky.kemp@longlevens-flooded.co.uk or drop it on a note into 8 Evergreen Walk, Longlevens. Thank you

Please contact your local MP’s, Severn Trent and Bellways Homes.
Below are a few suggestions of things you might want to cover in your letters.

These are only suggestions and you may have your own ideas of things to say as well. Any replies that you feel the committee should be made aware of please contact us via the website or letters through 8 Evergreen Walk, Longlevens.

  • Mention that you are a member of the newly formed Longlevens flood group
  • Where you live, what part of your property was affected (car/garage/kitchen/conservatory)
  • That we have not yet had visits from anyone connected with local or national government
  • We want assurances that this won’t happen again and what is in place for the future
  • We want to view original planning and written emergency procedures that legally should be in place in the event of pumping station failure.
  • Who gave permission to install a gas main over a flowing brook?
  • We need support in finding out why Bellway have not cleared our drains in over four years despite our road still falling under their jurisdiction
  • Why at 6.15am on Monday did all the toilets in the estate make gurgling noises, appear to fill up with more water and smell of sewage?
  • If indeed the pumps failed why have we been told on different occasions that they were working at 8am? If this is the case, maybe this is why the flooding became worse, when the rainfall stopped. What time did the pumping station come back on?
  • Are the sluice gates in the local area manned at low and high tide? Is this something that is usually done?
  • On Midlands Today, Thursday 5th July 10.30pm news - there was a representative from The Highways agency stating that the estate only flooded due to the pump failure.
  • Will they be offering compensation and/or help with clearing up the mess from the current flood?

Contact Details: these are reproduced on the committee page under useful contacts for ease of finding in the future

Parmit Dhanda - Labour
1 Pullman Court, Great Western Road, Gloucester, GL1 3ND
Phone: 01452 311 870
Fax: 01452 311874
www.parmjitdhanda.co.uk

Paul James – Conservative
4 Pitch View, 46 Kingsholm Road, Gloucester, GL1 3AU
Phone: 01452 384 051
psj@gloucester.gov.uk

Lucy Nethsingha – Liberal Democrats
7 Millers Green, Gloucester, GL1 2BN
Phone: 01452 411 599
Lucy.nethsingha@gloucester.gov.uk

Bellway Homes
Alexander House
Excelsior Road
Western Avenue
Cardiff
CF14 3AT

Sales Office Contact: 02920 544700
Email:
wales-sales@bellway.co.uk

Seven Trent
The Customer Relations, Complaints review Team
Severn Trent Water
Sherbourne House
St Martins Road
Coventry
CV3 6SD

Tuesday 10th of July - Crisis meeting arranged by Council
The Council have arranged a meeting to discuss the flooding with the Environment Agency, Bellway Homes, Severn Trent, the City and County Council and two members of the flood committee who have been invited to represent the residents.

Local press have indicated that this meeting will be in a room with public viewing access, this is not correct, there will be no public viewing of the meeting.

    The meeting is scheduled to start at 10:00am on Friday the 13th of July and is to be held at Gloucestershire County Council's headquarters at Shire Hall.

We hope to have all information discussed in the meeting online by the end of the weekend.

Monday 2nd of July - Residents meeting held at the Longlevens Community Centre
The initial meeting of residents affected by the flooding was held this evening to introduce the committee and explain the plan of action.

The following diary of events was presented, the diary times are based on Cypress Gardens and Evergreen Walk.

Sunday 24th June.

    No risk warning of flood

Monday 25th June
0500 Cypress Gardens estate starts to flood, the flood moves from the brook onto the roads of the estate.
0550 Neighbours woken up by the sound of water bubbling up through plug holes and toilets. Phone calls to Fire Brigade whose advice was to stay out of the water after holding for 7 minutes to speak to somebody.
0600 With the estate roads now flooded, water begins to enter properties.
0630 Water level up to 2 feet.
0700 Flood level rises to 4 feet.
0715 Firemen arrive at the scene, explaining not to panic and that all of Gloucester was in the same boat. We just have to wait in our houses. We were told they were unable to pump the water anywhere. They began to evacuate those neighbours that did not want to stay in their homes, although they told us that it was safe for us to stay in our homes on the first floor which many of us wanted to do.
0820 Contaminated water continues to rise. Plastic manhole and drain covers float down the street, opening people to possible injury who are trying to evacuate.
1200 Firemen began to tell us all that we needed to evacuate the area as the bridge was likely to wash away with the force of the water. At this point we were wading waist deep in the contaminated water, after 6 hours of being outside and open to the elements.
1340 Kathy Williams from the council arrives at the site to re assure tenant in the estate.
1500 Flood disappeared miraculously within an hour. Where did the flood water go to?

The impact was so severe it made both national and local news.


Tueday 26th June

  • Insurers, loss adjusters and contractors were promptly called to deal with claims and loss of contents within the estate.
  • Cars that were flooded were taken to local garages.


Wednesday 27th June

Reasons for the flooding started to be investigated by the committee

Scenario 1 The pumping station a mile away from the estate failed resulting in the flooding of the field along side the A40 due to the heavy rain. Severn Trent tried to resolve the flooded field (and protect the road) by pumping the water back into the brook. The brook was unable to handle this additional load causing it to rise further and flood the estate.
Scenario 2 The sluice gates at the nearby reservoir were opened to release excess water which is funneled to the Severn via the brook. Coupled with the large quantity of rain water already flowing in the brook this additional water was enough to breach the banks of the brook and flood the estate.
Scenario 3 The quantity of rain that fell was so great the flood was completely natural.
The residents don't believe this to be true as the flood water would still have been present hours or days laters.

Issues that didn't help the flooding

1

The brook passes under several bridges as it routes through Longlevens, the small foot bridge that crosses from Westmead Road into Evergreen Walk has a narrow channel compared to the rest of the brooks width. With increased water flow this bridge acts as a bottle neck. The increased flow is further limited by the concrete plinth housing the gas main for the estate which was mounted mid way up the bridge opening, with enough water flowing under the bridge this plinth would act as a dam.

On the day of the flooding this plinth broke, most probably due to the high pressure caused by the amount of water trying to flow under the bridge, allowing it to drop lower into the water flow and act as foundations for a dam.

2 The bank on Cypress Gardens and Evergreen Walk side of the brook are lower than the Westmead Road side. Photos from when the estate was being built show that Bellways levelled the site and may not have rebuilt the bank to the same level that it originally was.
3 The brook is supposed to be managed by the Environment Agency, this includes checking the brook is clear of obsticles. Several obstructions have been found since the flood, including well developed trees growing in the brook that must have been present for sometime.

Thursday 28th June

The estate was greeted by a number of governing bodies set up by the Director of the county council Paul Galland.
Representation from the County council, the Distinct council, Gloucestershire Highways and Seven Trent attended, there were no representatives from Environmental agency or Bellway Homes.

The meeting was a pass the buck meeting, no one taking ownership or accountability.
The following key questions were raised, but no answers were provided
  • What plans are in place for this weekend as there is a forecast of further possible flooding?
  • What was the root cause of the flood and how is it that in well over 20 years this has never happened before?
  • Why have the drains not been serviced in over 4 years? (The council pointed out that they should be serviced yearly)

Friday 29th June

  • Toilet cabins delivered courtesy of the county council
  • Bellway organised the drains to be cleaned up.
  • ITV wants to do a documentary to raise awareness.

Saturday 30th July

  • Sand bags delivered by the council.
  • Meeting arranged by Reinhard Joseph for Monday 2nd July for all residents.

Sunday 1st July

  • Neil Bond on the local news, Severn Trent pumping station named as possible reason for flood.
  • Residential meeting mention.