Helping Kent communities become more flood-resilient
Homes in East Peckham and Five Oak Green better protected from flooding, as property flood resilience measures installed in 424 properties
A flood barrier is installed as part of new protection for hundreds of homes in Kent
A scheme has been completed protecting 119 properties in the community at significant risk of river-flooding. Measures installed include flood doors, demountable barriers, automatic airbricks and pumps. Some 92 per cent of eligible property owners signed up to the property flood resilience scheme, or PFR, and are now better protected.
In addition, a further 49 properties in Five Oak Green had PFR measures installed Tunbridge Wells Borough Council secured ‘repair and renew’ funding from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. This was targeted at homes affected by flooding during Storm Ciara in February 2020.
Following a council community engagement exercise where residents were invited to register an interest in installing flood resilience measures, the Environment Agency was invited to implement the scheme and was able to obtain more government funding.
Mark Douch, area flood and coastal-risk manager for the Environment Agency, said:
We’re already seeing the impacts of the climate emergency in the UK. It’s part of our flood and coastal erosion risk management strategy to help create climate resilient places that can adapt to future climate change.
Individual property flood resilience measures will help to minimise damage from flooding. By preventing or slowing the amount of water entering homes in the most frequently experienced floods, people will have more time to prepare.
The measures will also minimise water damage to allow people to get back into their homes more quickly following a flood.
You can check your flood risk, sign up for free flood warnings and keep up-to-date with the latest situation at https://www.gov.uk/check-flood-risk, call Floodline on 0345 988 1188 or follow @EnvAgencySE on Twitter for the latest flood updates.
Councillor Nancy Warne, portfolio holder for communities at Tunbridge Wells Borough Council, said:
I can’t imagine how traumatic it must be to have your home flooded and to lose your treasured possessions, not to mention the prolonged agony for the householders in dealing with the aftermath of these devastating events.
The news that flood defences have been installed at Five Oak Green is very welcome. I am pleased that we were able to secure the Defra funding for the scheme, and feel certain that these measures will bring some peace of mind for those residents affected.
Property flood resilience is a method for property owners to better protect their homes and businesses from the effects of flooding. It can be used in areas where a more traditional, engineered scheme is not possible. The measures applied to individual properties reduce the impact of flooding and can also reduce the cost of recovery after a flood event.
Installing the Five Oak Green measures at the same time as the East Peckham scheme meant that the scheme could be delivered more quickly and cost-efficiently. Work on both schemes utilised valuable learning from the Middle Medway Flood Resilience Scheme which installed property flood resilience measures to 256 homes across 8 parishes in the middle Medway area in 2020.
When added to the 256 properties better protected by the Middle Medway Flood Resilience scheme, completed in 2020, the total number of properties in mid-Kent better protected by PFR measures is 424.
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To request more information about property flood resilience measures please e-mail [email protected].
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For further information on flooding and to find out if your home or business is at risk, go to: https://www.gov.uk/check-flood-risk
Background
- Flood Re pilot
The Five Oak Green and East Peckham schemes are part of an ongoing pilot with Flood Re and the Flood and the Hazard Research Centre to collect data on resistance, resilience and recoverability measures.
The pilot is the first attempt at creating a flood performance certificate. Currently, properties at risk rely on subsidies from Flood Re to make insurance affordable. However, the Flood Re scheme is due to end in 2039 and so it is important for homeowners to reduce the risk of internal flooding to their properties.
The flood performance certificate is seen as a means for homeowners to and increase their properties flood resilience and increase the confidence of insurance companies in providing flood risk insurance when the subsidies no longer exist.
To help homeowners find out more about property flood resilience measures, the Environment Agency and Flood Re have launched an online information and advice hub Be Flood Smart.
- Testing the installations
Following the installations, the schemes used wet testing* and ultrasonic testing** to provide further confidence in the PFR measures.
A PFR practice exercise in September 2023 was an opportunity to test the use of the PFR measures. This involved residents fully deploying their PFR measures as if a Flood Warning had been issued. The measures were then inspected by the project team to check that residents were able to use them correctly.
*Wet testing is where a temporary dam is constructed around a doorway which has PFR installed. The area between the dam and the doorway is filled with water to mimic a flood and therefore, effectively tests the flood door or barrier.
**Ultrasonic testing is a secondary test which detects airflow across a closed flood door and can show where leakage could occur. This method is a useful check, rather than the sole means of testing.
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