The community road closure scheme here in Southwell has been running since 2015 and currently has 60 trained Road Closure Wardens. These wonderful volunteers respond whenever heavy rainfall threatens to cause dangerous local flooding.
Training enables volunteers to close certain roads, at particular points, to stop cars driving through flood-water when specific depths are reached. Wardens really appreciate the co-operation of drivers to respect the closures which don’t normally last more than a few hours. If a vehicle drives through flood water it may cause a bow wave to wash water into a property that otherwise would have remained dry. Drivers who ignore these legal road closures may endanger themselves, and their passengers, should they become stranded in the floodwater. They also risk a hefty repair bill if their car insurance doesn’t pay out because the road was closed. Roads can remain dangerous even when flood-water has receded and may need to be inspected and perhaps cleared of mud and debris before it can re-open. The volunteers are not qualified to determine if a road is safe to re-open. Nottinghamshire County Council and their contractors, Via, re-open roads when it is safe to do so.
Southwell Flood Forum is always pleased to welcome new volunteers and anyone interested is invited to email info@southwellfloodforum.org.uk
