Last night there was an excellent turnout to this special meeting which was called in response to the recent flooding. The Letcombe Brook Project Partnership is funded by the Environment Agency, Grove and Wantage Joint Environmental Trusts, Letcombe Regis Parish Council and the Vale of White Horse District Council. This enables us to fund our Project Officer, Sally Wallington, who works to improve the environment of the brook and organised this event.
We had presentations from the Environment Agency which explained the incidents which led to the flash flooding on 20th July, and we also had various myths expelled like 'opening sluice gates caused the flooding' and 'we were flooded to save others downstream'. This was followed by a question and answer session with the county and district councils, Thames Water and Environment Agency. Some questions were answered more satisfactorily than others. However, the general feeling was that the meeting was well organised and that everyone had a chance to have their say.
I do hope that those residents who were flooded are now getting their lives back to some sort of normality again. We did hear from the Vale's Emergency Planning Officer that there are some really good flood prevention measures on the market now which can be used to protect one's home from serious flooding, so it is worth investigating these products if you live near the brook. However hard we try to plan, you can never predict when these freak events will happen.
If anyone has any queries regarding the Letcombe Brook, do email:
[quote]I do hope that those residents who were flooded are now getting their lives back to some sort of normality again.[/quote]
ReplyDeleteLife after the flood is the "new" normal. We decided not to move out of our home, so "normal" is now living in a house which has been gutted, its very heart is missing, packed away in boxes waiting for the day when we can once again surround ourselves by the objects that make a house a home.
Our kitchen has been ripped out (well, the bottom cupboards have, thankfully we still have those higher up). We have no work space in the kitchen tho, as the drawers containing cutlery etc are now stored on the kitchen counters; all the pots and pans are in boxes and we've been living on take-aways and convenience foods for weeks.
Our lounge looks like a camping site, with fold-away chairs posing as armchairs. We finally had our asbestos tiles removed from the lounge floor earlier this week, and this should speed up the drying process. We have 3 dehumidifiers and 2 large fans on the go constantly, and it sounds like we're living in a factory. The relief when we turn the fans off is difficult to explain, but we still have the background noise of the dehumidifiers which are on all day and all night.
Our bedrooms are full of boxes, filled with toys, books, ornaments, - my daughter's room is so crowded that we cannot get to her window to open her curtains each day, so she only goes to her room to sleep, as it's not a safe and comfortable haven for her any more.
I know that eventually all this will be put right, and we will have a brand new lounge, dining area and kitchen. In many ways we are fortunate, because all our appliances, carpets etc were wearing out and we could not afford to replace them ourselves. But I would give anything to have my shabby carpet back, and my life to be truely normal, as it was before 20th July.
When our insurance claim is finally completed, and we start putting pictures back on the walls, and displaying our ornaments and prized possessions, we will then have to live with the fear of it all happening again.
The only thing I got from Friday night's meeting was that the flood was caused by excessive rainfall. There was no assurance that it wouldn't happen again, and I know that no-one can possibly make that promise, but I doubt that I will ever relax again when it rains, as I will be watching and waiting to see if the Letcombe Brook breaches its banks again, and we'll go through the whole nightmare again. That is our new normality.
Sorry to hear that life is still difficult for you and my sympathies to all your family. If it is any small consolation, I can say that your situation is shared with many others in Oxfordshire who suffered too. And for those who moved into temporary accommodation it is not easy being away from home either.
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