All residents are most welcome at our next Parish Council meeting, on Tuesday evening from 7.15pm in the Village Hall Meeting Room. We will be discussing the recent flooding & would welcome your comments during the Public Forum near the beginning of the meeting. 

Please see the following important message from Suffolk County Council:

Suffolk County Council is designated as the Lead Local Flood Authority, and has a duty to collect information about the impact of flooding including undertaking investigations into “significant” flood events. 

Council staff will carry out these investigations when internal flooding has occurred multiple times for a single dwelling or when five or more homes are internally flooded in a specific location. Once investigated, the resulting reports seek to highlight the likely causes, options to reduce future flood risk and the relevant organisation/homeowner responsibility for undertaking any improvements. The Council has no powers to require any of the responsible bodies to take action, but the reports are published on the Council’s website.

So, what happens next?

With an event on the scale of Storm Babet one of the immediate challenges is to record where the flooding has occurred and the extent of the impact.

We are asking for your support to encourage all affected residents to report significant flooding to individual properties by clicking on this link and using the Highways Reporting Tool, if they do not have access to the internet they should call the SCC customer service number: 0345 606 6171.

How to use the Reporting Tool:
Click on Report It, (green button in the top left hand corner) then click Drainage and Flooding and select the most appropriate drop down option. Please include as much information as you have, there is also an option to upload photos. 

Once a report has been submitted, officers will contact the resident to gather further information and prioritise those locations that meet the criteria for an official investigation (known as a Section 19 Investigation). It is anticipated that this initial contact will be made during the next week. The investigations will follow, but until the scale of the challenge is determined it is difficult to estimate the timescale to complete this task. It is expected to take at least several weeks, but could take months before all of the investigation reports are published.

It is far too early to say what new projects may be possible to reduce the risk of this type of flooding happening again. The results of the investigations may reveal opportunities for the Council and other responsible organisations (such as the Environment Agency), landowners and homeowners to increase resilience to flooding. The Government currently has a 6-year, £5.2 Billion programme to fund flood risk projects and there is the potential to access this in Suffolk, however local match funding from local authorities, businesses and even homeowners is often required to fully fund this work.

If you know of residents in your communities which suffered significant flooding to their property, please forward them this email and encourage them to use the reporting tool to allow us to prioritise the next steps.

_________________________________________________________

Storm Ciarán is expected to bring strong winds and rain on Thursday which may affect large parts of the country including Suffolk. Please see the following information from East Suffolk Council:

A yellow weather warning for strong winds associated with Storm Ciarán has been issued for parts of East Suffolk for Wednesday night and into Thursday.

The latest indication for Suffolk is that high winds (60mph) will impact early on Thursday morning, mainly in coastal areas. Squally winds will be accompanied by 20 – 30mm of rain which will move through quickly.

The Met Office provides very useful advice about staying safe in a storm.

Orwell Bridge
Due to predicted high winds, National Highways will be closing the Orwell Bridge from the beginning of Thursday 2 November (00:00hrs) for a period of 24 hours. 
Updates on the Orwell Bridge from National Highways or National Highways East on X.

Flood warnings and alerts
Residents and businesses, especially those close to waterways, should continue to follow closely flood warnings and alerts from the Environment Agency and take action if advised.

School closures
With adverse weather conditions forecast on Thursday, some schools may need to close for safety reasons. Please check your school's website for up-to-date information. Current school closures.

Useful contact information
If you need some help, here’s how you can report common issues:

• Powercut - call 105 or report to UK Power Networks online. 
• Damaged power lines – please stay away and call 105. If there is an immediate risk to safety, please also call 999.
• Fallen or overhanging trees – if there is an immediate danger, please call Suffolk Highways on 0345 606 6171. Report non-emergency fallen trees or debris on the road to Suffolk Highways. 
• Dangerous structure: 01394 444219 or 0800 440 2516 outside of office hours.
• Report flooding to your property
• Report other types of flooding
• Sign up for flood alerts
• Report a blocked drain to Suffolk County Council. If the drain is blocked by litter or leaves, please comtact our Customer Services team.
• If your property has been affected by sewage flooding or there is a sewerage issue, please report to Anglian Water or call their 24-hour emergency number: 03457 145 145
• If your water supply has been affected, please call Essex & Suffolk Water on 0345 782 0999.
• Updates on the Orwell Bridge from National Highways or National Highways East on X.
• You can also receive updates and news via your preferred local radio station.

Take extra care at the coast
Following high tides, intense rainfall and strong winds, those visiting the coast are advised to take extra care.

Supporting communities impacted by Storm Babet
East Suffolk Council and East Suffolk Services are supporting communities as they seek to recover from the impacts of Storm Babet. Teams are out and about, however it is important that the Council is made aware of issues that are causing concern and is urging anyone seeking assistance to get in touch. 

If you need advice regarding housing, waste clearing or street cleansing, please call 0333 016 2000 during normal working hours (Monday to Friday 8.30am to 5pm).

If you are faced with an emergency situation outside of working hours (including the weekend), which requires an immediate Council response, please call our ‘out of hours’ number: 0800 440 2516. Please do not call this number during normal working hours as it is diverted to other services, and ONLY call in the case of an emergency (such as further flooding or homelessness).

Government Support
The UK Government has announced financial support for those in flood hit areas. 

Further details about eligibility criteria, and how to apply, will be provided in due course.

Bin collections
If your bin was not collected as scheduled, please leave it out and our crews will get to it as soon as possible. If your bin has gone missing during the flooding, please contact our Customer Services team to arrange a replacement.

Support and advice available
The following list shows various support and advice which is available to those affected by flood damage:

• Replacement of household items
  There are sources of support available to help with this – if you need assistance with this, please feel free to contact East Suffolk Councill and we can link you up with organisations that can support and assist.
• Citizens Advice: Borrowing money
  Most people will need to borrow money at some stage to help them during an emergency, to buy larger items or to fund a special event. Before you borrow money, it is important to make sure you will be able to keep up the repayments, otherwise you could be taken to court and might even lose your home or other valuable possessions. Find out about the different ways to borrow money, how to borrow sensibly and how to avoid some of the pitfalls of borrowing which can lead to problems with debt.
• Suffolk Local Welfare Assistance Scheme (LWAS)
  This scheme is not intended as emergency support but could be useful for funding replacement items lost to flooding that would not be covered by insurance, or which are needed more quickly. LWAS helps those experiencing financial hardship - this could mean you are struggling to afford the basics, such as food, heating, clothing and fuel, or to pay your household bills. Only one award can be made to an eligible household in a 6 month period. Eligibility criteria apply (household income less than £27,500; household savings less than £1,500). Successful applicants will receive a BACS payment directly into their bank account or a Post Office cash out voucher that can be redeemed in store. Apply for LWAS.
  
• Further support and advice
  Citizens Advice East Suffolk
  Adviceline: 0808 278 7866 (Monday to Friday 10am to 2pm)

__________________________________________