Royal Greenwich Says Have Your Say On Our Draft Flood Risk Strategy

by our RGB Correspondent | Greenwich

Cllr Danny Thorpe:
Cabinet Member
for Regeneration
and Transport.
(Credit: RBG)

The Royal Borough of Greenwich has produced a strategy on how to deal with potential flooding in the borough – and now wants local residents to give their views.

Because of laws introduced after the devastating floods in parts of the UK in 2007, every local authority in England has to have a strategy in place to deal with any potential incidents of flooding. The strategy identifies any risks, shows how the borough intends to lessen these risks and how it would deal with any floods that do occur.

Flooding could come in the form of surface water floods, ground water (rain water or snow) floods or flooding from ordinary watercourses like streams, rivers and canals. 

The Royal Borough is responsible for local flood risk from surface water, ground water and ordinary watercourses including some ditches. Flood risk from larger rivers such as the Quaggy, Kidbrooke and the Thames is the responsibility of the Environment Agency.

The strategy outlines how the borough works with partners to identify local flooding risks and reduce the potential impact of any floods – for example by carrying out preventative works and by raising public awareness of the risks so people can best protect themselves and their property too.

The Royal Borough also wants people to tell them about any experiences they’ve had with flooding to try to gather more local knowledge on any risks.

Councillor Danny Thorpe, Royal Borough of Greenwich Cabinet Member for Regeneration, Enterprise and Skills said: “As we’ve seen in this country in recent years, flooding can strike suddenly anywhere and cause real devastation. We have seen some homes and properties impacted in recent years from one-off occurrences and these have really impacted peoples’ lives."