Twitter from Calderdale’s Flood Recovery Steering Group
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Category Archives: Floods
Shaun Maskey’s flood bulletin no.2
Residents and Council hope Natural England will act to reduce flood risk from uplands
Hebden Bridge residents and Calderdale Council both want Natural England to make sure that uplands management reduces the risk of flooding in the Upper Calder Valley.
In a submission to Natural England’s Uplands Review, more than 90 Hebden Bridge Residents have asked Natural England to urgently review the terms of the Walshaw Moor Estate Environmental Stewardship Agreement (ESA). The residents say that the ESA doesn’t take proper account of local people’s needs for upland management that will reduce the risk of flooding in the Upper Calder Valley, and as a result, the £2.5m that the ESA will pay to Walshaw Moor Estate over the next ten years “represents exceptionally poor value for public money.”
Calderdale Council says blocking moorland grips can help reduce flood risk
Ban the Burn campaigners are not alone in saying that an end to drainage and burning of blanket bogs would reduce flood risk in the Upper Calder Valley. Both the Environment Agency and Calderdale Council agree.
Healthy blanket bog
Gallery
This gallery contains 8 photos.
The blanket bog on Walshaw Moor is very degraded and species-poor. So here are photos of healthy blanket bog and some of its key plant species. This is how Walshaw Moor should be. It badly needs restoration. (If you’d like … Continue reading
Looking for the blanket bog on Heather Hill
Went for a walk to Heather Hill on Widdop Moor/Walshaw Moor to find out what blanket bog looks like, since I’ve been hearing quite a lot about it recently.
We couldn’t find very much, because most of it was very degraded. And what there we did find was very species poor. But the photo below shows a small patch we came across.
Walsden Water – one of 294 flood prevention schemes that haven’t gone ahead
The Guardian has the full list of 294 flood prevention projects that were given projected spending in 2010 for 2011 and 2012, but didn’t receive any funds in those years, according to Environment Agency records.
This includes Walsden Water-Todmorden Phase 3, which was allocated £322K for spending in 2010, with further predected funding of £280K in 2011 and £2,110K in 2912.
The Guardian points out that this failure to carry out the 294 flood prevention works happened following Coalition government cuts of 27% of the Environment Agency’s budget.
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Public Calderdale Council Scrutiny Panel meeting about aftermath of floods
All members of the public are welcome to attend the next meeting of Calderdale Council’s Economy and Environment Scrutiny Panel, on 26th July at 6pm in Todmorden Town Hall. The Calder Valley floods will be the only item on the agenda.
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We need a different kind of flood alleviation scheme now
By the afternoon of Friday 22nd June, the tops above the Upper Calder Valley couldn’t absorb any more rain from the relentless downpour that had been falling all day. Roads to the valley turned into torrents, as water gushed out of field gateways and off the moors. According to Steve Sweeney, Calderdale Councillor for Todmorden Ward, this runoff caused the Burnley Road flooding in Todmorden.
Todmorden floodgates question…correction to previous post
Correction and clarification:
Samantha Anne Stott has reported on the Calder Valley Flood Victims Facebook page about the Todmorden church meeting on Monday 25th evening. Her report says:
“The church meeting this evening was full 🙂 Continue reading