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Since forming, the group has installed more than 800 natural interventions to slow and store water from the River Stour and its tributaries
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Group is the result of one of 60 Government Natural Flood Management pilot schemes
Volunteers in Shipston-on-Stour in Warwickshire, who are harnessing the power of nature to increase flood resilience in their community, have been praised by the Environment Agency for their innovation.
Members of the community formed the Shipston Area Flood Action Group (SAFAG) in 2014. They have since become part of a government pilot to use Natural Flood Management (NFM) techniques, such as tree planting and pond creation, to slow flows and store water from the River Stour before it reaches the town whilst also creating habitats.
There are around 85 homes and businesses at risk of flooding in Shipston and around 30 additional properties at risk in surrounding villages across the catchment. Many properties flooded in July 2007 when the Stour reached its highest ever level.
The group now has members from Brailes, Long Compton, Tredington, Newbold and Alderminster as well as Shipston. Since 2017, it has installed more than 800 interventions, including leaky barriers and ponds, to hold back and slow the flow from upstream tributaries into the Stour during periods of heavy rainfall, benefiting some 17 villages and towns as well as numerous smaller settlements.
Today the group is highlighted in a new Government report on The Natural Flood Management Programme which received £15 million of government funding which completed this year.
SAFAG Volunteer Geoff Smith, who joined the group in 2016, said:
Although my house isn't one of those at risk of flooding I was inspired and motivated to help the group to reduce flooding in Shipston. We've installed lots of ponds and barriers that can hold back water, and planted trees and plants which slow the run-off from rainwater into the river. Lots of small changes can help to make a difference.
While it's hard to scientifically prove that the interventions have decreased flooding, anecdotally people in the community have said it has made a difference and after last winter's heavy rain we saw much less flooding than expected. The interventions won't stop a major flood but they can help to reduce the frequency of flooding.
The core volunteer group was formed by Phil Wragg, a former CEO, Mike McCarthy, who has a background in the forces and fire service, and Geoff who worked in finance. Their combined experience helped them to raise funds, engage more than 50 landowners, undertake scheme design, obtain statutory consents and then procure the materials and contractors to carry out the work.
They used some 'seed' funding to recruit a PhD student from the Coventry University Centre for Agroecology, Water and Resilience as the group's project officer in 2017-8, and then took over all aspects of the schemes from 2019.
Geoff added:
If you're willing to get stuck in and find some help to get started you can make a big difference to your community. It helps the community to take ownership of protecting their homes from flooding.
The wider group of volunteers monitors the NFM sites during heavy rainfall to review every asset in flood conditions and they have an annual schedule of works to maintain all the different interventions. The group was awarded the Environment Agency Flood and Coast Excellence 2021 Award for Community Partnership.
David Hudson, Environment Manager for the Environment Agency's West Midlands Area, said:
It's fantastic to see the amazing work that volunteers have undertaken in and around Shipston to make these step-changes to their immediate environment to ease the impact of rainfall in the River Stour catchment.
Reducing flood risk through nature-based solutions is not new to flood management, but what is changing is our understanding of how to work with others to implement the most effective blend of measures in the right locations.
James Bevan, Chief Executive of the Environment Agency, said:
Natural flood management has a crucial role to play as we help the country adapt to climate change, and this programme demonstrates the huge benefits it can offer to reducing the impacts of flooding as well as capturing carbon and creating habitats for wildlife.
Into the future, we're going to be doing even more to use the power of nature alongside conventional defences to help create a nation more resilient to climate change.
