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This page contains all the news updates from 2008, a new news page has been created for 2009 and can be found from the menu on the left of by clicking here.

 
The flood committee cannot be held responsible for the content of advertised sites.

 
Friday 05th December Environment Agency public meeting to explain their study of the Horsbere brook.

The Environment Agency are holding a Public Meeting next week at Sir Thomas Rich's School, Longlevens. We have booked this for 10 December and it will be commencing at 7pm.

Reducing the risk of flooding from Horsbere Brook

I would like to invite you to a public meeting at Sir Thomas Rich’s School on Wednesday 10th December commencing at 7pm where we will present proposals to reduce flood risk in the area affected by the Horsbere Brook.

The Environment Agency has powers to reduce the risk of flooding from designated main rivers like the Horsbere Brook. However in order for us to justify spending public money on flood alleviation schemes, we have to carry out an assessment to see whether a scheme is technically possible, environmentally acceptable and economically viable. The flood defence benefits to the nation must outweigh the costs of a scheme before we can bid for Government money.

Following the devastating flooding in July 2007, we have been carrying out a study to see whether a flood alleviation scheme for the brook is possible. We have been working with Gloucestershire County Council, Gloucester City Council and Severn Trent Water and reached a stage where we have our preferred option, which is flood storage upstream (east) of the A417. Before we finalise our study, we would like to present this option to local residents, take on board local views and discuss any issues.

The presentation will be followed by an opportunity for those attending to ask questions of the Environment Agency and partner organisations. I can assure you that we are committed to finding a solution and reducing the risk of flooding from Horsbere Brook.

If you have any urgent queries or comments please contact:

Rob Millar
Direct Tel: 01684 864406
robert.millar@environment-agency.gov.uk


T'is the season to be jolly

The Flood Committee felt it was fitting to have a Christmas tree for our estate this year after the kind generosity shown to us by the Fire Service last year.
We are going to be using the lights from last year but have undertaken to pay for a tree ourselves and that any contributions that people wish to make would be welcomed.

If you would like to make a donation of any size please see Kelly.


The following flood forum has been arranged for Monday the 8th of December at 6:00pm, all residents are welcome to attend.

Dear Resident

We would like to invite you to come to a meeting at 6:00pm on Monday 8th December at Committee Room 1, North Warehouse, The Docks.

The aim of the meeting is to discuss the purpose of a flood group network and what a Brookwatch scheme might look like. Also, the British Red Cross has donated some funding to help communities to support people in the future in relation to preparation for, response to, and recovery from emergencies. We would like to discuss at the meeting what structure is needed to decide how best the funding is to be spent.

I hope you will be able to come along. A light buffet will be available on arrival and the meeting will finish at 9:00pm. Please let me know whether you are able to attend the meeting. My direct line is 01452-383748, email vl@gloucester.gov.uk. If you require further information, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Hope to see you on the 8th December
Kind regards

Vera Li
Community Involvement Officer

Wednesday 29th October A new online guide to flooding has been launched by Gloucestershire County Council to help people access the information they need.

Gloucestershire County Council has updated and revamped the flood information pages on its website.

The ‘mini site’ holds a wealth of information for residents who have been affected by, or are at risk from, flooding.
The web pages, which can be found at www.gloucestershire.gov.uk/flooding, have information and advice on a variety of topics including flood defences, insurance advice and business continuity planning.

They also include links to a variety of other sources of help and further information.
Interesting additional features include a section on ‘Who does what’ which explains the roles and responsibilities of the different agencies involved in flood risk management.
As the world of flooding and drainage is a complex one, with a number of agencies responsible for different stages, it is hoped the flooding mini-site will direct visitors to the organisation best placed to help them.
The new web pages will also provide advice and information on riparian ownership - the responsibilities of people who have a watercourse running through, or alongside, their property.

Many people are unaware that they may be a riparian owner, and that they therefore have legal obligations to maintain their section of watercourse.

The new version also means that the latest flooding news, together with details of the council’s flood resilience and alleviation work, are now accessible from one section of the council website.
Summaries of the council’s gully cleaning programme, the maintenance and improvement work being undertaken by Gloucestershire Highways, and a list of joint-funded, multi-agency flood resilience projects which will be completed this financial year can also be downloaded.

Cllr Julie Girling, cabinet member for environment, said: We felt that it was very important for this information to be easily accessible and all in one place.
We learned some harsh lessons following the floods last year and we want to be ready and prepared if something like that was to happen again.
These new web pages will help residents access the information they need to find out what we’re doing to protect them and what they can do to protect themselves.


Flood & Emergency Planning information event will be held at the Rugby Club on Saturday November 15th between 10am and 4pm.

Find out how to prepare yourself for the future, come and meet the people who are working so hard to make Gloucester better prepared for emergencies.

The event is being organised by Gloucester City Council and Three Bridges Neighbourhood Partnership, with funding from the Red Cross. It is a day for residents to come and get advice and to find out what agencies have been doing over the last year.

There will be Trade stands and information stalls run by agencies and community groups and a presentation held in the morning and afternoon by the Environment Agency, Severn Trent, the city council and the National Flood Forum.

We hope that 3 specific outcomes will be achieved:

  • That individuals are given good information and encouraged to protect their homes and families.
    Information will be provided on flood protection, grants that are available and how to make up an 'emergency box'.
  • That the formal and informal flood groups across the city will join together to become the Gloucester Flood Forum.
    Providing residents with an opportunity to learn from each other and be well informed.
  • That residents will sign up to be part of a Gloucester-wide Water Course Warden Scheme.
    To be the 'eyes and ears' for the Council on issues relating to the water courses. Reporting problems etc. Training will be provided.
Wednesday 6th August Paygrove Park will be officially opened this Sunday

The playground in Paygrove Park will be officially opened on Sunday 10th June from 2.30pm. All residents are invited to attend. The Rotary Club who donated £36,000 will be coming along as will local councilors and the mayor.

There will be refreshments and some entertainment. The flood committee look forward to seeing you there.

Monday 4th August News update for last month

Kelly Bartlett and Vicky Kemp attended a national flood conference held at Gloucester Rugby Club on Monday 14th July on behalf of the flood committee. It was attended by Severn Trent Water, the Environment Agency, The Highways Agency, city and county council, The National Flood Forum and many others.

Our area was presented as being high on the agenda and the works that Severn Trent have already carried out at Big Normans Pumping Station were shown. We were commended as an area for being constructive and for having a solid community that will get a defence scheme. Unfortunately we don’t know when a scheme will be put in place but both Kelly and Vicky felt that we were very much at the forefront of the decision makers minds.


Neighbourhood Watch scheme launched successfully
After the initially poor response, we have now been successful in getting a neighbourhood watch scheme in place for Cypress Gardens and Evergreen Walk. Several signs will shortly be appearing around the estate informing people that this is now a neighbourhood watch area.

Our representatives are Louise Byrne for Cypress Gardens and Leia Rosenberg for Evergreen Walk. They can be contacted via e-mail at the following addresses -

louise.byrne@nhw.longlevens-flooded.co.uk
leia.rosenberg@nhw.longlevens-flooded.co.uk

Information received from the police relating to Longlevens will be displayed on this site shortly.


Local Weather Station
The Flood Committee have been contacted by a local resident who has an online weather station in the Longlevens area and has kindly provided a link to the information.

Up to date weather statistics can now be found here

Monday 30th June Flood Reunion Party a big success

The Flood Reunion Party held on Saturday was a big success with almost 100 people attending. The first (and hopefully to become annual!) duck run was also a sell out with all 40 odd ducks being raced with cash prizes for the first three places, and only three people ending up in the brook!!!

Pictures will be added from the event very shortly, watch this space.


The following press release has been issued by the Environment Agency today regarding the on going studies into the Horsbere brook.

Dear all,

I would like to update you on the progress of the Horsbere Brook Study.

We have completed detailed data gathering along the length of watercourse. This has included: surveying the water level information of last years flooding; a full topographic survey of the watercourse from Witcombe reservoir, through Brockworth, Elmbidge and Longlevens to its confluence with the River Severn; collating detailed height information of the area from airbourne remote sensing techniques. It was imperative that we were able to collect the best available data in order to feed it into our hydraulic model, the baseline of which is now complete.

Other works we have carried out include maintenance inspections to keep the watercourse free of obstruction and reduce the risk of blockages. We have removed the footbridge at Cypress Gardens which acted as a restriction to flow. We have also installed a river level gauge which will help us to collect valuable information about the watercourse for use in assessing future flood risk.

In justifying flood alleviation works along the Horsbere Brook we must follow the Government’s national guidance to manage flood risk. This seeks to protect those areas with high risk to the urban environment and population. In exercising our powers, we need to demonstrate that there is a benefit in terms of reducing flood risk to the urban environment and population. We want to spend public money wisely to reduce flood risk along the length of the watercourse and remove as many properties as possible from the high flood risk category, as defined by the insurance industry. We are currently using our baseline hydraulic model to test various options, the results of which we hope will demonstrate the benefit we would gain by carrying out flood alleviation works on the Horsbere Brook.

Carrying out the modelling of various options is necessary so that we understand the current flood risk and the level and cost of the standard of protection that we could endeavour to provide. The various options that we are feeding into the model include provision of defences in certain locations and creation of upstream flood storage to reduce flood risk downstream. We hope to be able to hold a public consultation in September this year, when we will have some preliminary outputs to view. We anticipate the final results of the options testing will be complete in November. We can then bid for money nationally or locally for our preferred option which must be technically possible, environmentally acceptable and financially viable. To achieve this we are working hard to ensure we are able to put the best possible business case forward for the Horsbere Brook to enable us to secure funding.

We will continue to work with the local community and want to be able to capture all the information and potential options for flood alleviation on the Horsebere Brook. We would like to invite anyone who has a view on how to reduce flood risk to contact us with their information. Should there be any suggestions please send them to Toby Willis who is the engineer working on the study at toby.willis@environment-agency.gov.uk

Monday 23rd June Work on playground is well underway

Some residents will already be aware that work has started on the playground between Evergreen Walk and Paygrove Lane. Although a firm completion date is not know yet it is predicted to be around the 2nd to 4th of July. We are hoping that this new play area will provide a real benefit to local children in time for this summers holiday.


Less than a week until the Flood reunion party and BBQ, if you are planning on attending but haven't confirmed or paid Steve or Jesse yet please can you do so as soon as possible so final arrangements can be made for the purchase of the food.

Sunday 8th June Kelly Bartlett presented evidence to the Planning and Flood risk scrutiny task ground

Flood Committee member Kelly Bartlett attended an inquiry hearing on Wednesday the 4th at shire Hall based upon the planning issues raised at the main inquiry of Cypress Gardens and Evergreen Walk. Her witness statement is available here. She was given an hour to present our concerns. Bellway Homes were invited to attend but did not respond. The task group will come up with recommendations for our estate by the end of July. The adoption of our drains and roads are close to being complete which will at least give us the reassurance that the drains will be cleaned regularly and the estate will be well kept.


Flood reunion party and BBQ!
To mark a year passing since we all woke to the shock of being flooded, and to celebrate a year of having made new friends and knowing our neighbours much better than before, the Flood Committee are hosting another party and BBQ on the 28th of June, as the new years eve party was such a success. Tickets are £5 per household to cover the cost of food, please bring your own drink.

It will be held in the same carpark as before behind 34 Cypress Gardens from 6pm, all welcome.
For tickets please contact Steve Byrne at 34 Cypress Gardens or Jesse Smith at 5 Evergreen Walk.

Wednesday 21st May Environment Agency have finished and cleared the site

The Environment Agency have finished their work where the foot bridge used to be, the railings have been removed and replaced with regular height iron railings on the Westmead Road side and a 5ft wooden fence on the Cypress Gardens, Evergreen Walk side.


The Flood Committee have heard that the estate has still not been adopted by the council, which is why the grass and verge areas are not being maintained. The management of these areas is still the responsibility of Bellway Homes, and after communications between Bellway's and the council we have been advised that a landscaping company will be on site the week commencing the 27th of May.


The petition opposing the development of the site behind the Wheatstone Pub without first completing a formal flood risk assessment is still low on signitures. If this site is developed without assessing the impact on the flood risk for the local area far more houses in Longlevens could be flooded than were affected last year. Please can you take two minutes to sign this petition, remembering to click on the link in the e-mail you receive otherwise your signiture does not count.

Click here to sign the petition

Tuesday 29th April Environment Agency start landscaping

The Environment Agency have started the process of landscaping the area where the bridge was, they have laid turf on both sides of the brook at the upper levels of the banks. The Flood Committee still don't have any specific date as to when the railing are going to be removed though, or what the future plans are to finish the site off, but when we do get confirmation it will be published here.


Time is ebbing away if you want cash from the Gloucestershire Flood Fund

If you think you could be entitled to help from the Gloucestershire Flood Fund - and have not yet applied - you have until the end of next month to do so.

The trustees have decided to keep the fund open until 31st May and want anyone who has not applied before to submit an application as soon as possible.
Applications will also be considered from anyone who has already received a grant from the fund, but has since incurred additional costs.
The Mayors of Gloucester and Tewkesbury launched the fund in the wake of last year’s floods - the worst to hit the county in living memory. Its aim was to help raise money and give out grants to local people whose homes were flooded or who have suffered hardship as a result of the disaster.

Altogether, more than £1.8 million has been raised.

Only one application per household can be made. Among the claims that will be considered:

  • Excess on insurance policies
  • Uninsured financial loss, with consideration given to reasons for not being insured Any other costs that the trustees feel should be funded

Application forms can be downloaded from the flood fund website www.glosfloodrelief.org.


Planned development upstream that could affect Longlevens

The reasons why Longlevens was so badly hit in last years floods are still not know, speculation exists that the large volume of building upstream of us has reduced the natural land capability of absorbing excess rainfall. With this is mind a petition has been setup apposing the plans to build between the Wall's factory and the Barnwood link road.

Details of the plans can be found here, and we urge you to sign the petition here as we have no idea what the effects will be on the brook with this additional development. Until a formal study is made on the impact this could increase our risk of further flooding and possible risk flooding people nearby who escaped last years floods.

Friday 18th April Brook Cam is back online

The hardware that runs Brook Cam has been replaced and the images are again being updated every 5 minutes. We hope this has resolved the problems but will not know for sure until it has run successfully for a while.

Sunday 13th April Brook model complete and ready for testing

The Flood Committee have learnt that the company producing the model of the brook for the Environment Agency, has finished the updated model with the bridge removed and is now ready to start running scenarios against it. This will hopefully allow the Environment Agency to come up with a strategy for protecting the entire area from future flooding.

Once we know any more information about the plans we will publish them here


All residents of Cypress Gardens and Evergreen Walk should have received Neighbourhood Watch letters detailing how to secure your property and asking if people are interested in getting involved in a neighbourhood watch scheme.

So far only 12 replies have been received, we urge you to complete and return the form even if its just to be kept informed of possible issues in the area. There have been several incidents of car break ins in the last few weeks and the more we do to help ourselves the safer it will be for everyones property.


After the success of the brook and estate clean up weekend several residents have asked about going a step further and land scaping the public areas in the estate. This could include redo flower beds and planting trees and shrubs, the committee think this would be an excellent idea and will help improve the value of the estate.

We are keen to know if people would be interested in this work taking place, and if so would be either willing to help or contributing a small amount of money towards the plants? Please can you use the feedback form to let us know your thoughts on this idea.


The Flood Committee now have a hard copy plan from the Fire and Rescue service for what needs to be done if we experience another possible flood situation. This plan includes details of how the emergency services should pump the storm drain system into the field beyond Evergreen Walk, this will hopefully speed up actions at any future possible flood situations.


Brook Cam has been offline for the last few days due to technical problems with the computer that runs the feed, we are working to get this back online as soon as possible and apologise for the inconvience.

Wednesday 2nd April - Further funding secured to complete the playground

The Flood Committee are pleased to announce we have gained a further £40,000 funding for our new playground from Severn Trent on top of the £36,000 donated by Gloucester Rotary Club.

Matt Hill from the Parks Department at the city council would like to meet with parents and the youths within our community at 10.00am at the Paygrove Lane playground on Saturday 5th April. This will be an opportunity for people to look at plans and give suggestions on equipment before orders are placed.

If you want to be involved in this positive improvement to our area please come along on Saturday morning. Please can you confirm your attendance to Kelly via e-mail.


First estate and brook cleaning session was deemed a success.

Residents from Cypress Gardens, Evergreen Walk, Clomoney Way, Greyhound Gardens and Westmead Road helped to clean the brook and estate on Saturday and Sunday.

Several skips worth of mud have already been removed from the banks next to the Clomoney Way bridge and surround drainage outlets into the brook, this has primarily been done by Julian for which the Flood Committee are very grateful and will continue to look too for guidenance. A large amount of weeds that acted like a wall between Cypress Gardens and Clomoney Way was removed as well as work to tidying the flower beds and grass bank between Cypress Gardens and the A40. Even the press turned up from the Citizen to document the work.

Everyone involved was very happy with the progress and we hope further sessions are as productive, details of when these are planned for will be advertised shortly. If you would like to get involved then please let us know via the feedback form.


Neighbourhood Watch hopefully being launched

We are hoping that a neighbourhood watch scheme will be launched for the estate in the coming weeks. All residents should have received a letter explaining the benefits the scheme will bring and asking if they are willing to get involved.

With several incidents recently including car breakins and damage to belongings it is clear that something needs to be done to improve the safety for everyone. Even if you are not able to get involved in the scheme please can you help make the estate safer by reporting any suspicious activities to the local police.

Once further details are known about the scheme they will be published on this site.


Eco-Sound Home Products were on site at the weekend to demonstrate their flood defence products, the Flood Committee have now been informed that they are offering free postage, packaging and installation for all orders placed and they hope to be back on site soon to see the people they did not get chance to see last weekend.

Once we have confirmed return visit dates we will publish them on this site.

Tuesday 25th March - Cleaning up the brook and estate

The Flood Committee stated at the last public meeting that we were going to be planning a couple of brook and estate clean up events. As long as the weather is acceptable we are hoping to hold the first of these this Saturday (29th) morning starting at 9:30am. The plan is to meet at the old bridge site between Cypress Gardens and Evergreen Walk. We will then work out what is possible to do from there.

The point of contact for this work is Jesse, if you can make it please can you e-mail him so we can work out how many people we are expecting.


Also this Saturday Eco-Sound Home Products will be on site demonstrating their home flood defence systems at 8 Evergreen Walk from 9.30 until 11.30. They will have a couple of slots available after this time for home visits regarding extra large patio doors or custom made fittings as requested.


The Flood Committee are delighted to have received two cheques from the Gloucester Rotary Club towards the redevelopment of the playground.

One for £16,000 and one for £20,000. We are hoping to gain further funding to be able to fully redesign the area to include an older children’s area, new flooring and railings. We are thrilled with the support from the Rotary Club and feel that a new playground will benefit all of Longlevens and be a positive out of so many negatives we have had to face over the past year!

Monday 17th March - Another near miss

After another sustained (but not unusual for this time of year) period of rain the brook rose to dangerously high levels again. Members of the flood committee were monitoring the brook from 5:00am and by 6:30am decided to start waking residents as published in our emergency plan requesting vehicles be moved from the estate. The fire and rescue crews that attended agreed to pump out the storm drains, although this took some discussion as they knew nothing of the plans that were agreed last time. This action reduced the risk of flooding to the road from the rain water drains.

The fire service also placed a high volume pump in the brook and pumped into the field beyond Evergreen Walk. Between the pump and the rain easing the brook stabilised by about 10:00am although the emergency services where still present until midday.

Unrelated to the pumping of water into the playing field the Severn Trent Water pumping station that deals with sewage for the surrounding areas stopped functioning. This caused toilets to back up and forced Severn Trent Water to tanker out waste from a sub pump on Greyhound Gardens.

Yesterday proved that there are three specific problems, two are shared by the surrounding estates and one specifically relating to Cypress Gardens and Evergreen Walk.

  1. The city of Gloucester has a rain water drainage problem, the brooks where all rain water run off ends up are unable to cope with the quantity of water entering them. This is possibly not helped by development near these brooks reducing the land that can absorb rain water.
  2. The sewage pumping station located in the field behind Park Avenue and Evergreen Walk is very unreliable and seems to malfunction everytime it rains.
  3. The rain water drainage in Cypress Gardens and Evergreen Walk is unable to be released into the brook in times of heavy rain as the brook is higher than the road leaving the only option to have the emergency services pump the system clear.

The flood committee have already contacted the fire service to formalise the agreement to pump the road drains in similar situations in the future.

With the weather forecast for this Thursday and Friday also bad the council want to be prepared and are asking for houses that want sand bags to get in contact so they can be delivered ahead of time. Vicky is the committee point of contact for this information, you can either contact her directly or fill out the feedback form detailing your address and how many bags you would like.

Thursday 13th March - Flood fair a real success

The flood fair held last Saturday was deemed a real success with over 150 residents turning up to look over the products on show. The Flood Committee spoke with the companies there and agreed in prinicipal that if we can arrange for bulk purchases then discounts maybe available. Therefore, we would be interested in knowing which products people are most interested in so we can provide numbers and hopefully arrange discount.

To collect this information we are setting up an online form, at this time please do not use the feedback form to pass us this information.


County flood victims are being encouraged to write down their experiences as part of a sociological study. Bristol University is asking people to send personal accounts and cash prizes will be awarded.

Dr Shelley Hales, who is running the project said Send us your own documentation of the floods. This could be essays, photographs or video clips. You can also send creative responses all media are acceptable.

Written items should be no more than 2,550 words. The deadline is April 18th. For details go to www.bristol.ac.uk or contact shelley.hales@bristol.ac.uk or post entries to the School of Humanities, University of Bristol, 11 Woodland Road, Bristol, BS8 1TB

Thursday 6th March - Flood fair reminder for this weekend

This Saturday (8th) the Flood Committee are hosting the flood fair that was originally schedules in January when we almost flooded, and hence many people could not attend. On show will be flood protection devices for your property with experts on hand to answer any questions. Staff from the National Flood Forum, Longlevens Flood Committee and City Council officers will also be in attendance.

The event is open from 10am till 2pm at the Longlevens Community Centre, Church Road, Longlevens GL2 0AJ.

Saturday 23rd February - Feed back from the public meeting held this week

On Tuesday the 19th the Flood Committee held their third public meeting. Information was presented on the committee's progress and details on how residents can help protect the area from flooding in the future.

The main topics covered where as follows

Update from the Environment Agency -
The big success story, the removal of the bridge! However, the hydraulic modelling of the brook is still outstanding. The EA don't perform this modelling themselves and the company it has been contracted too are very busy doing modelling for large quantities of the country after the July floods. The scope of this work has also increased to cover the entire length of the brook with the intention of providing a solution to make the brook fit for purpose in its entirety. The earliest any funding can be requested to work on the entire brook is November with a start date in 2009.

Professor Ashley -
The committee and Professor Ashley worked closely in the production of the Tonight with Trevor McDonald flood investigation documentary and Professor Ashley very kindly offered to continue assisting us after the programme was produced. He used Cypress Gardens as a case study at a national conference held on 16/01/08. He is keen to see the Council adopt the roads and has informed the committee to push for this, as once they are adopted we will hopefully see improved services such as road and drain clearing, something Bellways have never done since the estate was built.

Secretary's report -
Vicky presented the treasurers report and informed residents that the committee now have a chain of contacts, therefore in an emergency specific groups of houses will be contacts by a named committee member (only for houses we have contact details for). We are hoping to get cards produced with committee contact details on for each household so you can also contact us if you have questions or problems.

Web Site report -
This web site has proven to be a massive success since its launch and we hope it continues to be so. A few statistics were published including -

  • The site has been viewed by over 33,000 unique visitors since its launch
  • Over a 100 unique visitors look at it daily
  • The brook cam has been the most viewed page since it went live with over 19,000 page views

The committee are thrilled this site is proving so useful and to assist in making it even more useful in the future have provided a feed back form to allow you to communicate ideas and questions to us.

Neighbourhood Watch -
The committee would really like to get a neighbourhood watch program setup for the estate and surrounding roads and are looking for volunteers. If you can help please contact us using the feed back form. We are not expecting this to take up a lot of your time and we feel it would be highly beneficial for the area.

The committee are also looking for people to help clear up parts of the brook and surrounding areas. So far a lot of people have volunteered to help tidy the brook to reduce the risk of flooding in the future. This work is being done with full approval of the EA as they have limited resources, if you would like to volunteer please complete the feed back form with your contact details so we can add you to the list.

The main questions raised where relating to the fencing around where the bridge used to be, we have been informed that this will be removed once the ground has dried out enough for the EA to landscape the area, we do not have any dates as to when this will be.

Monday 18th February - Reminder of the next Longlevens Flood Committee public meeting tomorrow (Tuesday)

The Flood Committee are holding their third public meeting tomorrow, Tuesday 19th starting at 7pm, in the Longlevens Community centre. Full details of all the topics covered will be posted on this site after the meeting in case people are unable to attend.

Sunday 10th February - Flood relief concert in Tewkesbury

Manor Players of Tewkesbury are performing a show to raise money for the 1st Tewkesbury Boys and Girls Brigades and Northway School who suffered damage in the July floods. It will be held at the Watson Hall at 7.30pm on Saturday March 8th and tickets are £10.

The show consists of songs from Musical Theatre and the standard will be very high as many of the performers are semi-professional singers. If you would like tickets please contact Kathy Williams on (Glos) 307604 who will reserve tickets for you.


The Flood Committee, and hence this web site, have tried to remain politically neutral since the floods. However, in light of the recent Spotlight publication by the Liberal Democrats which has been hand delivered to residents of Longlevens, we feel this contains misleading information which we will be asking Alistair Cameron, the Liberal Democrats parliamentary candidate, to make clear in the future as we feel people should be given the unbiased facts.

The two key comments are -

As residents will be aware, following the floods, the footbridge next to Cypress Gardens has been taken down to assist the water flow at this part of the Horsbere Brook. The foot bridge was removed after continued efforts by the Flood Committee and Councillor Kathy Williams to get the EA to visit the site when the brook was running high. On Friday the 11th of January Cypress Gardens and Evergreen Walk were dangerously close to flooding again, saved primarily by the bank the EA had installed only months earlier. Anthony Perry from the EA attended site that evening and from seeing for himself the blockage the bridge caused arranged for it to be removed under emergency measures. The Flood Committee do not have any evidence that the Liberal Democrats where involved in this process.

Paygrove Lane play area, many local residents are concerned about the very poor condition of the play area at the bottom of Paygrove Lane. The article goes on to say However, we understand that the Rotary Club have very kindly agreed to make a substantial donation towards upgrading and maintaining this play area. The grant is likely to be finalised in the near future and we hope this will enable much needed work to be carried out in the play area. - The Rotary Club grant to improve this play area is primarily from the close working relationship between Kelly Bartlett of the Flood Committee and the Rotary Club. The aim of the committee and the Rotary Club was to provide an area that the children of the estate would want to play in, and something to look forward too after they had their summer destroyed by the flooding. The Liberal Democrats have not been involved in this work in any way.

Wednesday 6th February - EA install depth gauges in the brook

The Environment Agency have installed two depth gauges in the brook after being requested by the flood committee. The first is on the upstream side of the Clomoney Way bridge and the second is on the outlet brick work next to where the bridge used to be. These should allow more accurate measuring of the depth changes of the brook in periods of heavy rain.

Thursday 31st January - Full details released regarding the Longlevens Neighbourhood Partnership

The following letter details the launch of the Longlevens Neighbourhood Partnership this weekend.

Dear Neighbour,

You are invited to the official launch of the new Longlevens' Neighbourhood Partnership, on Saturday 2nd February at 10am at Longlevens Junior School.

Over the last few months, residents have been meeting with the Police, Gloucester City Council and local community groups to set up the Partnership. At these meetings concerns were raised about community safety, the environment, youths, parking and flooding.

Residents also told us they would like to build a strong community by working together. So we are setting up a new Neighbourhood Partnership for Longlevens through which we will continue to work together for the benefit of the community.

This is your Partnerhip. Come and join us for the launch! Find out more, meet other residents, have your say and if you are interested, get involved.

Kelly Bartlett
Resident

The programme includes guest speakers

  • Parmjit Dhanda, MP for Gloucester, Minister for Cohesion and Neighbourhoods
  • The Right Worshipful the Major of Gloucester, Councillor Harjit Gill

You will also be able to hear about

  • The new Police panel
  • Archaeology Community Projects
  • The Flood Relief Fund
  • Fire & Rescue services

Its free entry for children, free refreshments and there will be a special appearance by Gloucester Rugby Players and Severn Sounds Black Thunders.

A Neighbourhood Partnership:
   Is open to anyone who lives in Longlevens and you can get involved at any time and at any level.
   Enables residents to work with their Councillors & other local community groups for the benefit of everyone living in the area.


Details for the Longlevens Flood Fair have been finalised.

The Flood Fair will be held at Longlevens Community Centre, Church Street, Longlevens GL2 0AJ.
Its open from 10am until 2pm on Saturday 8th March 2008

This is another chance for residents to look at and talk to the Manufactures of flood protection products, also staff from the National Flood Forum, Longlevens Flood Committee and City Council officers will be in attendance.

This will be an opportunity to look at a section of items that will be covered by the Flood Protection grant from the Gloucester City Council. For further information on the grant scheme please see details at this event, e-mail enviro@gloucester.gov.uk or telephone (01452) 550347.

This event is being held by the Longlevens Flood Committee in conjunction with Gloucester City Council.

Wednesday 30th January - Current flood situation for Gloucester City Council

This is the current flood situation for Gloucester City Council as of Tuesday January 29th.

  • The Flood Watch for the Severn Estuary is no longer in place.
  • There are no severe weather warnings but heavy rain is forecast for all day Thursday. As far as we are aware this is unlikely to result in any flash flooding - but the situation will continue to be monitored.
  • Residents who have received sandbags are asked to store them carefully - in a dark dry place or under a tarpaulin - to make sure they are reusable should more severe weather occur.
  • The flood boards at The Quay will remain in place while there is still a risk of high spring tides. This will be reviewed weekly.
  • The list of all properties that flooded in July and that have received sandbags is being constantly updated. This will include the carrying out of flood prevention works as a result of receiving flood grants.
  • Any residents who were flooded in July and who want to check that they are on the list should contact the city council call centre on 01452 396396.

Don't throw sand bags in the skips!

As stated above residents are requested to keep the sand bags they have been issued with, there have been reports of people throwing their sand bags in the skips or bins.
The council has already stated that sand bags are expensive items that they can not afford to keep replacing. If you really want to get rid of your sand bags please phone the council and request they are collected so they can be reused.

Monday 28th January - Next public meeting confirmed

The Flood Committee are going to be hosting their third public meeting to be held at the Longlevens Community Centre on Tuesday the 19th of February starting at 7pm. All residents are again welcome and we hope to be publish key topic areas prior to the event.


Another chance to attend the flood fair

The Flood Committee are also in the progress of setting up a flood fair as the last one was held on the Friday we almost flooded again! On show will be flood defence systems with experts ready to answer your questions, we also hope there will be people available to explain the £500 grant scheme available to residents. The flood fair will be help at the Longlevens Community Centre on Saturday the 8th of March, more details will follow as they become available.

Friday 25th January - Latest newsletter from the National Flood Forum

The National Flood Forum have published their latest newsletter covering flood information from across the country.

The newsletter can be downloaded here.
You will need the Adobe Reader to view this file, it can be downloaded free from www.adobe.com

Monday 21st January - How to keep safe - update

The How to keep safe by not leaving it to everyone else conference press release reproduced below was slightly misleading, the conference appears to require registration by either phoning Becky Ledger on 01452 427483 or by e-mailing. The flood committee are hearing rumours that the event is already fully booked but if there is enough demand from people still trying to get in the event maybe help twice to give everyone a chance to hear the information.

Saturday 19th January - How to keep safe by not leaving it to everyone else

Gloucestershire County Council is hosting a day long conference to give residents help, advice and support in protecting their homes.

This year’s first extended period of torrential rain, followed by snow and ice, brought with it uncomfortable echoes of last summer’s floods, making the timing appropriate.

The event is called “Protecting Your Community” and is designed to encourage residents to develop their own plans and networks to deal with future events that may affect their homes and their communities. The aim is to help them build community resilience, making emergency management second nature.

It all takes place at the Holiday Inn, Barnwood on Friday January 25th and is being chaired by Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue’s Chief Officer Terry Standing, the county council’s group director for community safety, who said, The event is an opportunity to see how we work together with communities to protect residents.

The flood crisis clearly demonstrated the benefits of cohesive communities and this is a great chance to share that knowledge and give people an opportunity to get involved.

The programme includes presentations from a City Centre Neighbourhood Partnership, a rural Community Group, the Head of the County Councils’ Emergency Management Service, County Councillors, District Community Safety as well as representatives from Community and Adult Care, Gloucestershire Constabulary, and the Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Service.

Also present will be representatives from County groups such as Parish Councils, Town Councils and Residents Associations.

Coun Will Windsor-Clive, Gloucestershire County Council Cabinet Member responsible for community safety said, It looks like being a very exciting day, with a wide range of subjects. The event highlights Gloucestershire’s progressive approach to community safety that was so evident during - and after - the flood crisis.

The summer floods of 2007 gave the people of Gloucestershire an opportunity to demonstrate how effectively they can work together in times of adversity. There are many heart-warming and motivational stories from across the county of how residents pulled together and how they can work even more closely with county agencies to become stronger and better prepared when future crises occur.

A market stall event will be held over the lunch break to allow everyone to share information about their communities and plans, as well as to chat to representatives from agencies and organisations from across the County about the support they can get from them.

By the end of the day it’s hoped that those attending will be more aware of the importance of being engaged in their community in day-to-day life, as well as during times of need. That communities will be better prepared for a crisis and aware of the vast amount of support and help available from a variety of sources in Gloucestershire.

Thursday 17th January - The bridge is gone!

The gas work in Westmead Road was completed this morning allowing the Environment Agency to continue with the bridge removal. Working through the rain showers the bridge was dismantled leaving only the part of the concrete supports by the end of the day, increasing the brooks width to almost the same as the rest of the channel.


Download your copy of the Your Essential Flood Guide

The council promised to deliver a copy of the recently produced flood guide to every house in the county, unfortunitly there have been problems with the distribution and it seems many house holds have still yet to receive a copy. To make sure the information contained within this guide is available to the house holds still waiting, a soft copy of the guide is now available for download here.
You will need the Adobe Reader to view this file, it can be downloaded free from www.adobe.com

Wednesday 16th January - Progress of bridge removal

The gas works in Westmead Road have taken longer than expected, therefore the Environment Agency have not been able to progress with the removal of the bridge today. The gas contractors are expecting to cap the pipe over the bridge by 10:30 tomorrow at which point the Environment Agency can continue.

Weather permitting and pending completion of the gas work the Environment Agency are hoping to have the bridge removed before the bad weather sets in tomorrow afternoon.


Council are looking at rescheduling the flood fair

The flood fair that was held last Friday was interupted by the risk of flooding in the local area and due to this the Council are looking at rescheduling the fair to give people another chance to see flood defence products available and information regarding the flood grants.


Longlevens Neighbourhood Partnership announced

The Longlevens Neighbourhood Partnershipis being launched on February 2nd between 10am - 12pm at Longlevens Junior School. It will be a family event with childrens entertainment, the Severn Sound black thunders, the mayor, councillors etc. It will be an opportunity for people to meet councillors and officials face to face in an attempt to make raising local issues easier with familiar people.

Tuesday 15th January - Progress of bridge removal

The Environment Agency has been on site all day today working on the removal of the foot bridge between Cypress Gardens/Evergreen Walk and Westmead Road. They had removed the upstream side wall and first layers of tarmac and concrete by early afternoon but are unable to progress any further until the gas main attached to the down stream side of the bridge is disconnected.

The gas company has been working in Westmead Road all day digging a channel to install the new feed to the Bellway built houses at the end of the road. Only once this is done can the gas pipe over the bridge be removed.

The council has also been on site all day coordinating the protection of houses with sand bags and polythene sheets under the guidance of Gloucester Fire and Rescue.


A big thank you to Gloucester Fire and Rescue who have provided a better brook cam which can now provide limited vision of the brook by night as well as day.

Monday 14th January - The bridge is going!

The council and Environment Agency have today confirmed that the foot bridge between Westmead Road and Cypress Gardens is going to be removed, and with bad weather on the way the work is scheduled to start tomorrow.

The Environment Agency have sealed off the bridge today with metal fences and are now waiting on the gas main to be removed before they can do any structural work on the bridge.

To allow people to monitor the progress of this work another webcam has been setup looking at the bridge and can be accessed from the Bridge Cam page.

Sunday 13th January - Advice and information from Cllr Kathy Williams and Cllr Paul James

The following letter is being posted through the doors of all residents who were at risk of flooding on Friday in Cypress Gardens, Evergreen Walk, Greyhound Gardens and Clomoney Way.

Dear Resident, after the near flood on Friday I have with Paul, felt it best to advice you all on what we and all the agencies are trying to do to prevent your homes from flooding in the immediate future until all the remedial work on the brook is carried out.

First we want to thank you all for the courage and commuinity approach you demonstrated in the situation you found yourselves in again on Friday last. If the Environment Agency (EA) had not taken action and built the bank up after the last flood there is no doubt the area would of flooded again. We like yourselves were shocked to find so much water in the brook. The EA advised us that 40mm of rain fell that day and the weather forecast is unfortunately similar for this Tuesday. In view of this we feel we need a local plan to assist coping with this again so everyone knows what to do and their collective and individual responsibility is.

First you should of all received a Flood Guide from the County Council. If you do not have this please let Kathy know asap on 07789 633625.

The Fire and Rescue service (FRS) together with the EA, Severn Trent Water, Gloucestershire Highways, County Emergency planning, Gloucester City Chief Executive, Kathy and Denzil Williams and assisted by Julian Myrans (for Julians knowledge of drainage) met yesterday and have a plan agreeable to all agencies to pump water from the brook into the flood plain field next to Evergreen Walk. This will only be done if the FRS and EA feel the brook is going to break its bank and will be done in a controlled manner so not to put other residents in Park Avenue at risk.

As residents please can you do the following - At being advised there is a serious risk which will come from either Kathy, Paul or the EA please can you move your car to higher ground not only to save it from flooding but to clear the area for the Emergency Services, lorries etc. When parking your car please ensure you are not causing any obstruction on the highway.

Can you prepare a bag containing warm change of clothes, personal important papers including insurance information. Please get yourself a decent flashlight or torch as it seems not many residents had one on Friday. Have extra batteries also. If the electric supply fails in the dark it will be difficult for you so I can't stress how important this is.

Please put bottled water in your bag for immediate use.

You will also need wet gear and boots and plastic gloves to pretest yourself from sewerage contamination.

Protect whatever property you can by moving it upstairs.

If you have pets get their food and beds and anything else they need ready also.

The Holy Trinity Church Hall is our local rescue centre and will be supported by volunteers who will be on standby and Gloucester City Council will assist in providing anything that is needed. You will be advised if we open this.

This is our emergency plan and hopefully it will not be needed.

The EA are committed to get your area from high risk to low risk as soon as they can and works are continuing but the weather is a force we can't change and we must do what we can to protect ourselves.

Any questions call Kathy on 07789 633625 or Paul on 07768 741823

You can sign up for free flood alerts at Floodline 0845 988 1188

Saturday 12th January - A narrow escape and a massive thanks to the Emergency services

Yesterday (Friday 11th) Gloucestershire received another burst of freak weather with over 3 inches of snowing falling on higher ground, coupled with freezing rain the Horsbere brook rose to within a few inches of bursting its new higher bank, which would have flooded Cypress Gardens and Evergreen Walk again.

From 14:00 onward members of the flood committee, the Environment Agency and the council were on site monitoring the situation, whilst others watched via the Brook Cam. By early evening the situation was getting serious and the emergency services were called in to help.

The flood committee orchestrated getting sandbags at the front and back doors of every house after the council had arranges for them to be delivered to the estate, and requested through the council Gloucester Fire and Rescue to setup mobile pumps to empty the flood drains into the playing field downstream of the estate. This stopped the road from flooding from rain water that the drains could not cope with.

setting up sandbags
cypress gardens

Sandbags were also installed along the side of the brook around Clomoney Way to avoid it breaking its banks up stream. These are going to be left in place over the next few days as the weather forecast is predicting more rain Sunday through Tuesday.

The flood committee would just like to say a massive Thank You to the Gloucester Fire and Rescue, the Environment Agency, Severn Trent Water and the Council for all their efforts last night, if it had not been for you, houses would have been flooded!

Wednesday 9th January - Flood fair details released by Council.

The council have issued the following press release regarding the flood fair that is to taking place at the Oxstalls Tennis Centre on Friday 11th January between 2.30 and 7.30pm.

Local residents can find out more information about Flood Protection Grants and buy flood defence products at a special event being staged later this week.

The Flood Fair, organised by Gloucester City Council in partnership with the National Flood Forum, will launch a grant scheme to assist householders who were flooded in July 2007.

Grants of up to £500 are available to City householders who need relevant flood protection work.

Defence products such as airbricks, door boards and retractable membranes will also be on show. The National Flood Forum will be on hand to give general advice on flood related issues.

Local residents who have still not applied to the Flood Relief Fund will also have the chance to do so at the event.

Councillor Andrew Gravells, Cabinet Member for Housing and Health, said: “The more help that we can give to Gloucester people who were flooded last summer the better. Grant money is available and the event also gives people a chance to find out more about flood defence products on the market.

Sandbags work well to a certain extent but can be unsuitable for elderly or vulnerable people – there are many products out there to protect our homes and families and the more knowledge people have of these the better their chances are of guarding against future flood waters.

The Flood Fair is taking place at the Oxstalls Tennis Centre on Friday 11th January between 2.30 and 7.30pm.

Friday 4th January - Council launch grants for home owners towards flood protaction.

The City Council are launching a grant of up to £500, available for householders in Gloucester, towards implementing flood protection measures to their homes. The grant will be launched at a Flood Fair that is to be held at Oxstalls Tennis Centre on 11th January 2008. Further details will be published when they are received.

Wednesday 2nd January - New Years Eve Party an amazing success!

Our new years eve street party was an amazing success. Massive thanks to Jesse Smith (our newest committee member) and Steve Byrne for overseeing and organising the whole event. Also thanks to all of the committee, Paul Staples, Cyril Davies, Lou Byrne, Paul James, Denzel and Kathy Williams, Holy Trinity Church and everyone who attended to make the evening so memorable.


Our application for a further £16,000 from the Rotary Club has been successful.

We have now been granted £36,000 to redevelop the playground! The Rotary Club have provided us with amazing support during the floods and are continuing to support us. We would also like to thank them for the amazing Christmas parade they treated us to, both the young and not so young loved it!


The council are allowing additional refuse quantities to be collected next week (commencing Monday the 7th).
In addition to the black wheeled bins a further 8 black bin bags may disposed of, please make sure the bags are placed next to your bin and your bin lid still closes.

Extra recycling is also being provided as long as it is secured in clearly marked black bin bags with either Glass, Cans or Paper. Unsorted or unmarked bags will not be collected.