Flooding Concerns for Ribbleside Residents

At the Broadgate Open Area Forum, the Environment Agency explained their new flood warning scheme and the floodrisks faced by a number of Ribbleside communities - all in high risk flood zones due to the potential for fluvial flooding events (i.e. river-based rainfall spate waters and land run-off and drain problems rather than from the sea), and emphasised that:

"The key message is that flooding is a risk and people who live in this area should start now to prepare for what they would do if their property was flooded."

Whilst, as the Lancashire Evening Post report, the risks of a serious flood event in Broadgate and Penwortham are deemed to be approximately a one-in-75 year risk, this does mean we are at high risk - and that such an event may not wait 75 years before it arrives!

Lower Penwortham residents will also have a chance to find out about the new flood warning scheme from the Environment Agency at the Penwortham Area Committee in Kingsfold Community Centre Tuesday 4th December at 7pm.
If you miss either forum, the Environment Agency will be sending letters out to local residents explaining how you can register for the scheme, or you can click on the link here to find out more.

After this year of unprecedented rainfall in the North West, our higher than average and faster than average flowing river HAS taken the strain as it is a free-flowing, natural drain which copes with the rainfall from 1,490 square miles of the North West.
THIS IS ONE OF THE MANY REASONS WHY BARRAGING THE RIBBLE IS A BAD IDEA.

Luckily for Broadgate and Penwortham residents, the early summer flash floods coincided with low tide and so the Ribble was able to quickly and safely drain the rising waters before too much damage was caused. As the lake of water on Leyland Road was within 6 inches of my own front door, no-one was more relieved than me...

As any local resident will also tell you, the green belt and floodplains both sides of the Ribble in Penwortham and Broadgate have remained sodden all year:
if these were mainly covered with the houses and concrete of roads and driveways and car parks for the "Central Park" building development being proposed for the Riverworks scheme, these large areas of valuable green space would not have been able to hold the many millions of gallons of water they are still coping with and releasing slowly into the river - all of our communities would have undoubtedly suffered greater flooding and the Ribble would have struggled to cope with the faster run-off of these rain waters.
THIS IS ONE OF THE REASONS WHY BUILDING ON THE GREEN BELT AND FLOODPLAIN IS A BAD IDEA

As the winter months are living up to predictions with yet more rainfall, Ribbleside communities are at even higher floodrisk this Winter - so register for the Environment Agency's flood warning scheme NOW and make a plan of action.

Get sandbags just in case, plot a quick plan of action for getting the children and the cat upstairs, and your most precious belongings: hopefully we won't need to take any action as the Ribble and our floodplains have served us well this year but with the excessive levels of rainfall, the Environment Agency have given us a timely warning that it doesn't pay to be complacent.

If you want to hear more about the Riverworks scheme, tune in to Radio Lancashire at lunchtime on Tuesday 4th December at around 1pm as representatives from Preston City Council, Preston Vision Board, Save The Ribble Campaign, and the Wildlife Trust, will be discussing the scheme...

You can contact us at savetheribble@tiscali.co.uk