Creating a flood risk plan for Piddinghoe

The Environment Agency recently visited Piddinghoe to discuss its policy on flooding for the village in collaboration with the Parish Council. Diana Stevenson of Piddinghoe Climate Action explains what happens next.

As a village right on the banks of the River Ouse at one of the river’s most tidal points close to Newhaven, flood is a significant risk for Piddinghoe and something that we residents are always mindful of and keen to address.

Piddinghoe Climate Action was partly set up to explore ways that residents might mitigate the potential  impacts of climate change – from rising sea levels to heavier rainfall. So liaising with our Parish Council and the Environment Agency to assess the current and future severity of flood risk for our village is a key priority for us – and we welcomed the EA’s visit in August to discuss these issues.

A key tool to assess our vulnerability to flood is the new survey of flooding risk which has been commissioned by the EA for the whole of the Ouse Valley. Building on existing data, the EA says the new survey will be much more accurate than previous analysis, with the ability to assess potential flood levels and impacts to within one centimetre, which is mind boggling.

The current government website maps how rises in the level of the Ouse might impact the local environment by 2060 if no further defences are put in place.

Once the new dataset has been analysed with modelling of the river flow, various viable schemes for flood defence will be proposed for consultation. There will be an opportunity for people to view the proposed schemes and choices will be made following this consultation period.

Any flood defences have to be carefully managed so as not to adversely affect other sites up and down the river.  For example, a defence in one place can actually speed up the flow of the river further downstream, potentially undercutting defences in those sites.

It is actually much cheaper to defend individual properties than do a large-scale Environment Agency scheme to defend a whole area en masse so this is recommended.

Piddinghoe Climate Action may run a local roundtable event to discuss defence options being proposed and what other steps residents can take to protect their homes. Many residents are looking forward to working with Piddinghoe Parish Council and the EA to determine the most practical and effective solutions to put in place.

In an aside, we also welcome plans by Wilder Ouse, a programme of the Sussex Wildlife Trust, to introduce beavers to the Ouse.  This would be marvellous to help control the heavy rainfall flow further upstream and potentially mitigate flood risk downstream for villages like ours.