Eardisland Scheme

Overview

We had hoped for a settled start to 2024 however we were saddened to learn that further flooding had impacted the residents of Eardisland in early January, courtesy of Storm Henk.

Storm Henk brought heavy and persistent rain to many parts of the UK, causing many rivers to record their highest ever levels. Sadly this also appears to be the case with the River Arrow which lead to some property flooding in the village. As most residents will know all too well, the frequency of winter storms appear to be on the increase which is a concerning trend.

According to our verified gauge level, the Arrow peaked in Eardisland at 1.48m @ 2310 on 2nd January 2024. This is the highest recorded level in recent times with the previous high recorded at 1.45m in February 2020. We have included our “Gaugeboard” in this update which confirms peaks recorded on the Arrow stretching back to 2008. The trend for the recent increase in winter storms can be clearly seen from 2021 onwards.

Subsequently, it is key that we move swiftly with the Property Flood Resilience scheme in order to offer protection to eligible residents at the earliest possible opportunity. George Maslin (EA Flood Risk Officer for Herefordshire) has been in close / regular contact with the Parish Council with updates on the latest developments of the Property Flood Resilience scheme. Details shared 17/1/24 as follows:

• Initial surveys have been carried out on all properties whose owners registered an interest in the scheme following an invitation that was sent out in the autumn of 2023. These surveys and associated reports are now in the process of being finalised.

• However, due to the New Year flood event, we opened a new window to allow homeowners that flooded who had not yet registered their interest with us about having a survey to do so. The revised deadline to get in contact was Friday the 26th of January 2024 and we received further applications for the scheme.

• Our team subsequently visited the new applicants during the 1^st week of February to evaluate flood threshold levels and full property eligibility surveys are now planned to be completed by the end of February 2024. Please contact eardisland.pfr@environment-agency.gov.uk if you have any specific queries relating to this process.

• Once all the surveys are finalised, properties will be reviewed for eligibility for the implementation of property flood resilience measures. This will be based on the results of the Survey, flood mapping restrictions and how they align with current funding guidance. Once complete, the Initial surveys will be provided to the homeowners. We will then procure contractors share the initial reports with our framework instillation suppliers who will discuss and agree with homeowners the detailed measures to be installed.

Further updates will be provided as we work through the stages outlined above and we would expect the next update to be released once the Initial surveys are complete and released to homeowners (as outlined above).

In the meantime, if any residents have any photos or video footage of the flooding that took place during the course of early January 2024, and you are comfortable sharing with us, we would urge you to forward them to us for our records. Photographic / video evidence would be really welcome and would support our records when reviewing the effectiveness of the PFR programme post completion.

With your permission, we could also include them in our next Citizen Space Update so please forward anything you are happy to share with us to George at the address detailed above. Many thanks for now, the EA team.

Keeping you up to date on our progress with this scheme is very important to us. We will continue to provide updates through this information page and via engagement events and briefing notes. If you would like to receive notification about these updates, please email your contact details to eardisland.pfr@environment-agency.gov.uk and we will add you to our mailing list.

PLEASE NOTE – By providing us with your contact details you consent to the Environment Agency using the details provided to contact you with updates about the Eardisland Flood Alleviation Scheme.  We will keep your contact details until the project is closed or until you withdraw your consent, whichever is sooner. You can withdraw your consent to receive these updates at any time by emailing us at eardisland.pfr@environment-agency.gov.uk . We will not share your details with any other third party without your explicit consent, unless we are required to by law.

The Environment Agency is the data controller for the personal data you provide. For further information on how we deal with your personal data please see our Personal Information Charter on GOV.UK (search ‘Environment Agency personal information charter’) or contact our Data Protection team. Address: Data Protection team, Environment Agency, Horizon House, Deanery Road, Bristol, BS1 5AH. Email: dataprotection@environment-agency.gov.uk.

Remaining flood aware

Please make sure you remain flood aware and ensure you are signed up to our flood warning service. Visit www.gov.uk/sign-up-for-flood-warnings or call 0345 988 1188 to sign up to get Flood Alerts and Warnings by phone, email and/or text message. This is a free service. Alternatively contact our Flood Resilience Engagement Advisors at Floodresilience@environment-agency.gov.uk

Know what to do when you receive a flood warning - use the 3 point plan.

Additional information

• Report an incident here.
• Find out about owning a watercourse here.
• View our schedule of maintenance work on the River Wye catchment  here.

If you have any queries about this project, please contact eardisland.pfr@environment-agency.gov.uk

Thank you for visiting our project information page. Please keep visiting this page as we will be updating it regularly. This page will be open to the public until the end of the project.