Additional drop-in events for flood-hit communities

More flood drop-in sessions are being organised across the county to give local people the opportunity to say how they have been affected by the recent floods.

Devon County Council and the Environment Agency are organising the events, with the support of Teignbridge, West Devon, South Hams, East Devon and Mid Devon District Councils, Exeter City Council and South West Water, to enable communities to speak directly to staff from local authorities and agencies and raise any concerns they may have.

It will also give the Councils and the Environment Agency the opportunity to gather information about the flooding incidents. Residents who attend the sessions are being encouraged to bring along photographs or video footage taken during the flooding in their area. Laptops will be available to download information.

Additional sessions will be held at:

Bovey Tracey Methodist Church Hall - Wednesday 12 December from 1pm-7pm;
Buckfastleigh Town Hall – Thursday 13 December from 12pm–7pm;
Exeter Civic Centre – Tuesday 18 December from 4:30pm–7pm;
Milton Coombe Village Hall – Wednesday 19 December from 6pm-8pm;

The first of the drop-in events started this week at Feniton and was attended by more than 100 people. Sessions have also been held in Cullompton yesterday (Thursday 6 December), and at Kennford today (Friday 7 December) from 12noon-7pm.

Councillor Stuart Hughes, Chairman of the Devon Flood Risk Management Partnership and Devon County Councillor for Highways and Transportation, said: “We hope people will use these drop-in sessions as an opportunity to come along to raise issues as they see them, and tell us how they were affected. We will be listening to communities and all of the information provided will be extremely useful to all of the teams working closely together on this. The initial drop-in event at Feniton was extremely well-attended and our thanks go to everyone who turned out. The feedback we received on the incident sheets and the photographs handed to officers will help all of the relevant agencies to gain a better understanding of the causes of this event and to inform future approaches to reduce the risk of flooding.”

Gordon Trapmore, the Environment Agency’s Flood and Coastal Risk Manager for Devon and Cornwall, said: “We look forward to joining Devon County Council at these events and working with flood-hit communities and local councils to find ways of protecting our towns and villages from further flooding. These additional sessions will be a valuable opportunity to meet people who have been flooded and listen to their concerns and learn from their experiences."

Exeter City Council Leader Pete Edwards, said: “The recent events have demonstrated that there is real concern in Exeter and that we need to push ahead with improvements to flood defences in the city. The government has indicated that it will help with the funding for this important scheme but in the meantime we want to hear what people's concerns are and about their experiences. The drop-in session in Exeter on the 18th is a great opportunity for this.”