News

Still time to share views on flooding

The flood roadshows set up by Calderdale Council are well underway, and hundreds of residents and businesses have already been to find out more about the plans to help reduce the impact of future flooding.

Sessions have been held in Todmorden and Hebden Bridge so far and feedback from attendees has been positive, with comments including “It was good to be able to meet staff and talk about the problems I’ve faced” and “It was all very informative”.

There is still chance to come along to the remaining roadshows in Sowerby Bridge, Mytholmroyd and Elland.

Sowerby Bridge: Christ Church, Tuesday 23 February, 3pm – 7pm

Mytholmroyd: Calder High School, Saturday 27 February, 10am – 1pm

Elland: Canon Winter Centre, Savile Road, Wednesday 2 March, 3pm – 7pm

Attendees can discuss flood defence plans; share flood resilience information; receive details of grants available for people affected by flooding; and see practical demonstrations on how to make their property more resilient to flooding.

Throughout the roadshows, people can discuss their questions and issues one-to-one, with Calderdale Council, the Environment Agency, the Canal & River Trust, West Yorkshire Police, West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service, Community Foundation for Calderdale, Hebden Royd and Todmorden Flood Groups, Yorkshire Water and Northern Powergrid.

The National Flood Forum will be at the Sowerby Bridge and Mytholmroyd sessions to give advice on insurance issues and how to reinstate a home to make it more flood resilient.

People can attend any roadshow – it doesn’t have to be in the place where they live. They can pop in for as long as they like, at any time during the opening hours.

Cllr Tim Swift, Calderdale Council’s Leader, said:

“There’s been a great turnout at the flood roadshows so far, and we want this to continue. The sessions are informal and are all about listening to local people, updating them on the work being done, and giving them important advice on protecting their properties. At the roadshows we’re also gathering people’s views, experiences and ideas so we can feed them back to the Floods Commission.”

The Floods Commission has been set up to learn from recent flooding experience and consider other evidence about what can be done to help improve Calderdale’s resilience in the future.

The Commission is holding themed public meetings in each area affected by flooding. The two meetings held so far looked at ‘A place where people want to live’ and ‘Emergency preparedness and response’. People are encouraged to come along to the next meetings to tell the Commission what they think about the causes, impacts and response to the flooding.

The next meetings are in:

Sowerby Bridge: Christ Church School, Wednesday 24 February, 7pm – 9pm

Theme: The economy. Topics include the impacts on business supply and demand chains, business support, insurance, marketing and tourism.

Elland: Canon Winter Centre, Wednesday 2 March, 7pm – 9pm

Theme: Physical infrastructure. Topics include repair and renewal of transport links, planned alleviation works and funding.

Hebden Bridge: Hebden Bridge Town Hall, Monday 14 March, 7pm – 9pm

Theme: Upland and countryside management. Topics include moorland management, reservoir capacity and farmland usage and drainage.

For more information about the flood roadshows and the Floods Commission please visit www.calderdale.gov.uk/environment/flooding

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