Ten years on from the 2014 floods – what lessons has West Berkshire learned?
As the great mop up continues, Local Democracy Reporter Niki Hinman looks back to 2014 and the floods that galvanised communities to fix the problem.
It’s been ten years since West Berkshire was last properly deluged.
But 2017 wasn’t great either. Nor for that matter, 2020.
But it was the winter of 2014 which saw widespread floods across 19 parishes.
It was so bad the army was brought in.
And it prompted a district-wide look into how flooding could be held back in future years. This prompted a range of investments to hold back the water, know as flood alleviation schemes. (FAS).
“Without the flood schemes in place, we would have been annihilated.”
That was the stark comment made to Liz Goodman in Eastbury from local flood warden James Potter. He’s one of around 32 flood wardens in the district keeping an eye on the water levels.
“There is no comparison to 2014 we were under water her for about six weeks,” she said.
“The water we have had has gone. Newbury Street hasn’t flooded this time. The difference is stark.”
Liz led the village response to the 2014 floods, galvanising a team of ‘civilian qualified’ locals to get it fixed.
Fundraising efforts got around £60k of match funded cash to scope out the work which, this time round, has saved Eastbury from the deluge.
So the scheme was devised in 2015 and was buillt at a rough cost of £3.5m.
“2017 was the wettest February on record… it was tested then,” added Liz.
The FAS consists of a throttle (in the river course) and a bund across the adjacent fields – like a dam with a big opening at river bed level.
The opening is designed to allow the river to pass unhindered if it is flowing normally.
If the river flow increases above this ‘normal’ level, excess water will be held back as it can’t all get through the gap.
The project cost around £700k.
“We are really just so pleased with it,” explains Liz.
“Richard Benyon, the MP at the time, was instrumental. I sat with EA and flood committee; we were one of the first partnerships to get together to deliver a flood scheme after 2014.
“The land owner Rooks Nest also helped with it, as did the whole village.
“It has completely saved us and changed how we are. The charity we set up to do it was set up for long term sustainability of the village.
“Flooding is always a difficult one. The main challenged is the antique sewerage system.”
Village warden James Potter leads the river maintenance, which is carried out as a whole in Eastbury, rather than piecemeal by what are known as riparian owners – those whose properties have river fronts and who are obliged to maintain their section.
Great Shefford was also protected by the work at Eastbury. The village raised around £80,000 and work is now expected to start in the spring of 2024.