Residents, Councillors, and Roz Savage MP Come Together for Flooding Summit in Cricklade
On a bright, sunny day in Cricklade, 80 residents, local councillors, and Roz Savage MP gathered at the Town Hall to shine a spotlight on the issue of flooding in the South Cotswolds.
The summit on Saturday 1st March, organised by Roz and her team, provided an opportunity to examine the impact of flooding while giving residents a platform to share personal stories and develop action plans. Attendees came from communities across the Wiltshire part of the South Cotswolds constituency, including Ashton Keynes, Chelworth, Minety, Cricklade, Dauntsey, Purton, Malmesbury, Crudwell, and Christian Malford.
People shared their experiences of flooding and suggested both short and long-term changes that could make a real difference. Proposals ranged from urgent infrastructure concerns to broader environmental solutions, with suggestions including better ditch maintenance, clearer responsibilities for owners of land next to waterways, and necessary action from the Environment Agency, National Highways, and Thames Water. Expanding networks of community flood wardens was also suggested as a helpful step towards building resilience in our communities.
Roz, who hosted the summit, reaffirmed her commitment to ensuring that actions taken by public bodies incorporate valuable local knowledge. She said:
"With climate change leading to more intense downpours, flooding is a growing challenge for so many communities, and it’s essential that those affected have a say in the solutions. Today’s summit was about more than just discussing the problem – it was about harnessing local knowledge, fostering collaboration, and driving real action. I will take the ideas and priorities shared here and work to secure the necessary commitments to bring about meaningful change.”
Throughout the summit, residents shared powerful first-hand accounts of the impact flooding has had on their homes, businesses, and daily lives. One resident described the devastating effect of road flooding, which prevented community nurses from reaching her terminally ill father. Others spoke of the distress of living for months in flood-damaged homes, including someone living upstairs while work was carried out on the ground floor. The flooding of a school had a serious impact on the children's education. Concerns over property insurance were also raised, with some residents unable to secure coverage, including people who live near houses that had flooded.
A repeated concern among residents was that preventative maintenance previously carried out by the Environment Agency is no longer being undertaken, leading to blockages in our rivers and therefore flooding. Residents reported being willing to step in and maintain ditches and waterways themselves but having been prevented from doing so by bureaucratic barriers and threats of legal action.
One resident, Andrew Chapman from Dauntsey Vale Flood Working Group, shared:
“The residents and businesses of Dauntsey Vale (Christian Malford, Dauntsey, Grittenham and Brinkworth) feel that they have been ignored and side-lined over the last 17 years as flooding worsens year on year. Money is wasted on study after study while pragmatic and obvious solutions discussed with the Secretary of State for the Environment (Owen Patterson) more than a decade ago have still not started work on the ground. Having our local MP and her team stand up and fight for us is a welcome change and we hope Roz can bring the water companies, National Highways and especially the Environment Agency to the table to find and implement solutions in short order. Studies do not stop flooding – it takes action on the ground.”
With ongoing collaboration between local communities, councillors, and policymakers, the momentum from this summit has the potential to drive significant progress in flood prevention and response efforts. Roz remains dedicated to ensuring that the insights gathered are taken forward to decision-makers and translated into tangible improvements for our communities.
Roz will be hosting a second summit on Saturday 8th March at the Cirencester Growth Hub, providing an opportunity for residents in the Gloucestershire part of her South Cotswolds constituency to share their experiences, ideas, and priorities for tackling flooding in their communities.
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