The Calderdale Flood Action Plan is three years old this October and to acknowledge this important milestone, Calderdale Council and its partners are reflecting on key areas of progress since 2016.
Created following the floods of Boxing Day 2015, the plan aims to reduce the impact of flooding and build resilience for future events. The majority of the original actions were gathered through workshops, drop-in sessions and meetings, and these have continued to develop and be shaped by the work as it has progressed.
The plan is a ‘living document’ that is discussed, monitored and updated by the Calderdale Flood Programme. The programme brings together a range of partners including Calderdale Council, the Environment Agency, Yorkshire Water, the Canal and River Trust, local flood groups, the voluntary sector and community groups.
Progress to date has been strong, with 72 out of the 210 actions completed over the last three years, and 48 nearing completion. The latest update of the plan showed 19 actions that have not progressed as quickly or have been identified as requiring assistance – these remain under continual review by the four operational groups that monitor them.
An infographic and ‘special edition’ flood newsletter showing some of this progress can be found on www.eyeoncalderdale.com(external link), and Calderdale Council and partners will be sharing further details on this work with their social media followers throughout the month.
Themed activities will be delivered around the four sections of the plan, which are Community Resilience, Strengthening Defences, Natural Flood Management (NFM) and Resilient Infrastructure.
As part of this, flood resilience advice and case studies will be shared on social media. There will also be an opportunity to learn more about the flood scheme in Mytholmroyd on the project team’s construction open day on Thursday 10th, as well as tours of natural flood management (NFM) sites on Sundays 13th and 20th.
Cllr Scott Patient, Calderdale Council’s Cabinet Member for Climate Change and Environment, said:
“We would like to thank our partners and the many volunteers across Calderdale for their sustained efforts which have enabled us to come such a long way since December 2015.
“It’s not all about big flood schemes you see happening on the ground every day – there’s also an incredible amount of work that goes on in the background by unsung (and often unpaid) heroes such as our amazing flood wardens and natural flood management groups.
“Their unfaltering dedication to our flood-affected communities is hugely reassuring to those faced with this terrible threat. There’s still a lot to do but the work is showing no signs of slowing down.”
Sally Kelling, who leads on the Calderdale Flood Action Plan for the Environment Agency, said:
“The Calderdale Flood Action Plan is an invaluable living document that outlines the work the partnership has delivered and continues to deliver to reduce flood risk to homes and businesses in the Calder Valley, and how people and communities can make themselves more resilient to flooding. We want to celebrate all the hard work of partners and individual volunteers.
“The Flood Action Plan is a great tool, enabling us to create a roadmap of how we help better protect communities from flooding, but just as important is that people educate themselves by checking their flood risk and signing up to flood warnings. Everyone has a role to play.”
The full plan can be found at www.eyeoncalderdale.com/flood-action-plan(external link) along with quarterly reports on partners’ progress. For information on the Mytholmroyd construction open day see www.eyeoncalderdale.com/mytholmroyd-flood-alleviation-scheme(external link) and to find out about the NFM site visits, see www.eyeoncalderdale.com/nfm-events(external link).
Protecting communities from the effects of climate change is a key part of the Council’s Vision2024 for Calderdale. Find out what it is doing to tackle this important issue on its new climate emergency web page and follow #ClimateEmergency and #VisionCdale2024 for updates.