FLOOD MEASURES ONE YEAR ON

After the floods - what the city council has done

Responding to the initial emergency

• Played a full emergency planning role
• Responsible for maintenance of water distribution
• Issued health advice
• Ensured businesses, particularly food businesses, were able to remain open safely.
• Distribution plan for sandbags
• Operated GL1 as a rest centre, used initially by around 700 people

Assistance in the following months

• Survey of 1,000 properties. Contacting and assisting those identified by the survey as vulnerable, supported by council staff and volunteers.
• Responding to enquiries related to flooding and land drainage, including health issues, insurance issues.
• Concentrated action to assist and advise those living in caravans, including monthly updates.
• Linking those affected with mainstream services.
• Linking those affected with the voluntary sector as appropriate, with assistance from volunteer organisation Timebanks UK and the Furniture Recycling Project amongst others.
• Working with our own tenants through Gloucester City Homes to repair flood damaged homes.
• Encouraging and assisting householders to apply to the Gloucestershire Flood Relief Fund for financial assistance with active promotion, with a take-up of more than 70% of eligible households
• Encouraging householders to take up the City Council flood protection grant to assist them in installing flood defence measures such as flood boards and smart airbricks.
• Run a flood fair with the National Flood Forum, demonstrating measures that householders can install and outlining grant aid available.
• Attended flood fair run by Longlevens Flood Committee and attended three drop in sessions run by County Flood recovery group.
• Heavily involved in County Flood recovery efforts, including information booklet to residents.
• Liaising with Government Ministers to secure Flood Recovery Grant funding of  £675,000.
• Successfully bidding for funding from Severn Trent for flood recovery and community projects - £422,000
• Successfully bidding for  £20,000 from Red Cross for local community groups.
• Supporting the Gloucestershire Flood Relief Fund charity with staff resource including:
  • Appointment of trustees
  • Obtaining charitable status
  • Organizing appeal and collecting £1.8 million from thousands of donors.
  • Running of Trustees meetings
  • Writing out 2000 cheques
  • Handling the phone calls from claimants
  • Preparing accounts for charity commission
• With partner organisations helping to stage the Tall Ships Festival. Visited by 20,000 people and injected around £1 million into the local economy. Festival selected as finalist in prestigious national competition.
• Participating in the Government’s inquiries into the floods, i.e. the report by Sir Michael Pitt and the EFRA Select Committee, with heavy involvement in the giving of evidence, outcomes and recommendations
• Participating in the County Council’s Scrutiny Inquiry.
• Establishing a Member’s Flood Recovery Task and Finish Group to monitor the City Council’s action plans.
• Carrying out a structured debrief involving councillors, staff and volunteers to identify lessons to be learnt and establishing action plans for the future.

Ongoing work

• Reporting to Government, resulting in provision and allocation of Flood Recovery Grant.
• Carrying out regular inspection and maintenance of watercourses in Council ownership. Commissioning works to flood damaged. watercourses in Council ownership, including de-silting and repairs. Current and future work scheduled.
• Undertaking comprehensive co-ordinated plan to map and model storm flow in sewers and watercourses, to link with surface water management plans.
• Working with Environment Agency and Severn Trent on developing a comprehensive flood model for the City to assist future flood planning
• Collating evidence of the events of July 20th and presenting to council committee and the public.
• Allocating of Severn Trent funding for flood recovery and community projects. Schemes include:
  • Plans for a hub club at Plock Court, including an eight lane athletic track to replace the city’s current six lane training track that was damaged by the floods.
  • Flood defences and play equipment for the Abbeydale Community Centre
  • Flood prevention measures for Daniel’s Brook
  • Youth facilities for the whole community at the Al Ashraf centre.
  • Landscaping at the Saintbridge Balancing pond – an important part of the city flood defence system
  • Cash aid for All Blues RFC, Winget Cricket Club and Gloucester City Football Club
  • A water management scheme for The Moat at Quedgeley – a scheduled ancient monument
  • A sensory garden in Podsmead and a play area in Paygrove Lane
• Working with councillors and local residents groups to devise local flood plans.
• Setting up local emergency response plans in each ward in the city, creating a team of local people and councillors to work together and share information in any future emergency.
• Helping local people to take flood measures through the provision of Flood Protection Grants.
• Supporting local events and projects through Community Grants scheme.
• Providing council tax relief to people unable to live in their homes or only able to live in part of their homes.
• Chief Executive sharing his experiences with other emergency planning staff outside the city, and senior environmental health officers giving presentations to fellow EHOs at regional conferences on their experiences during the emergency and recovery. Presentations to the Federation of Small Businesses.
• Carrying out a review of the council’s Emergency, Flood and Business Continuity Plans in the light of the lessons learnt.