Flooding in Buckinghamshire

Recently in Ashendon a number of houses on Main Street were flooded. Action has been taken to minimise the risk of reoccurrence, including a very quick response from Buckinghamshire Council Road Maintenance to complete kerb work in order to protect affected properties where this was the solution.

This serves as a reminder that living on a hill is no guarantee that we are safe from flood risk and that we should all assess the risk to our own properties and prepare as best we can, no matter how unlikely it seems.

Buckihamshire Council has launched a new Buckinghamshire Be Flood Ready website providing useful information that could stop the horrors of being flooded. The Council also recommend that residents:

• Check if the area they live in is at risk of flooding
• Sign up for flood warnings
• Check what to do during a flood

Other useful information:

Roads and pavements

To report flooding or a problem on roads and pavements that you feel is unsafe and needs to be dealt with as an emergency:

• In office hours: 01296 382416
• Out of hours: 01296 486630

• Homeowners who have already suffered damage from flooding can also ask their home insurers about the ’Build Back Better’ scheme. If their home insurance includes this scheme as part of the policy, the insurer should work with them to assess if additional flood resilience or resistance measures could benefit their home in the future. The scheme covers the cost of installing such measures up to the value of £10,000, over and above work to repair damage and loss caused by a flood.
• The National Flood Forum is a charity who helps, supports and represents people at risk of flooding. They have guidance on Protecting Your Property, which provides advice on how property owners can make their own property more resilient to flooding. In particular, the Property Protection Advisor tool allows you to enter details of your property and will suggest suitable measures and indicative product costs for your property. It is free to use and has no ongoing obligations. For further information on how to go about protecting your property, please see the useful links on our website.
• The National Flood Forum has a helpline that provides general support before, during and after a flood on issues including insurance, home re-instatement and home resilience. Contact the National Flood Forum charity: 01299 403 055 or see: https://nationalfloodforum.org.uk
• Flood Mary is another good source of information: https://floodmary.com

We hope you find it useful but we also hope floods won’t happen.

Ashendon Parish Council