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Pangbourne at the ready




Emergency equipment provided thanks to SEPD grant

PANGBOURNE is to receive life-saving and emergency equipment thanks to a £9,381 grant.

The funding, from Southern Electric Power Distribution’s Resilient Communities Fund, will allow Pangbourne Parish Council to buy a defibrillator, a portable electricity generator and a water pump.

It will also fund floodlights, two-way radios, road signage, first aid kits and training, high-visibility clothing and a gritter trailer, along with half the cost of a backup generator for the village hall.

The parish council applied for the grant to help improve its flood and emergency resilience measures. Around 150 homes were affected by severe flooding in 2007 and a resulting power cut rendered the village hall unusable as an evacuation centre.

A flood warden for Pangbourne Parish Council, Kay Lacey, was responsible for the organisation’s application.

She said: “The events of 2007 were horrendous for many residents in the village and the Parish Council Flood Group subsequently identified that there were a number of measures that could have improved how we managed such an emergency.

“Since then, we have been working to improve our resilience and reduce the impact of flooding and other major incidents in the future.

“This has included an expensive shopping list of backup equipment, and we’re incredibly grateful to Southern Electric Power Distribution for awarding the funding to pay for this.”

Southern Electric Power Distribution set up the fund last year to help local communities look after themselves in an emergency situation, such as a severe storm, that could result in the loss of power and limit access from outside help.

Its head of customer operations, Austin Cobb, said: “The purpose of the fund is to limit the impact of weather events on the communities we live and work in by helping them to cope in the rare event of a prolonged power cut.”

To find out more about the fund and how to apply visit www.ssepd.co.uk/resiliencefund



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