Bradford on Avon Town Council hosted a meeting with Dr Brian Mathew MP, the Environment Agency (EA) and Wiltshire Council following record flooding.
In the aftermath of Storm Bert, Mayor Councillor Jack Vittles called on these key organisations to come together and discuss ways to strengthen the town’s resilience against future floods.
We feel the meeting was productive and welcome the chance to meet as this group again.
“I was pleased this meeting was able to take place so quickly and I’m confident we can begin to improve Bradford on Avon’s flood preparedness,” said Councillor Vittles.
“At the meeting, I pushed Wiltshire Council to allow for our Town Wardens to have more powers to safely manage traffic during a flood emergency.
“More generally, I look forward to further meetings with this group to not let the important issue of flooding in Bradford to slip from people’s minds.”
The EA will report back on the viability of a large-scale flood management scheme for the town. We hope to have more information in early 2025.
After that, we will know if the scheme is deliverable both logistically and financially.
The scheme was last looked at in 2019 but was paused due to a ‘significant funding gap’.
The EA agreed to attend a public event to explain decisions around flood management. At the event, residents will also be able to ask any questions directly.
Chair of the Environment & Green Spaces committee, Councillor Alex Kay said: “Our community recognises that the Climate Emergency is causing more extreme weather conditions.
“Whilst the geology and geomorphology of the town make flooding inevitable, the increased stormy weather will make this worse.
“I don’t think it is possible to stop the floods. Resilience, preparedness and rapid recovery are the future. We need advice and financial support to help residents to future-proof their homes and businesses.”