The first event at La Parisienne launched the fund on 20th February and raised over £200 towards our £125,000 target. Over £2,000 came in in the first weeks. See the Calendar page for information about future Events. There is lots planned and something for everyone and his dog. Yes, literally there will be a dog show 30th August sponsored by Minster Veterinary Practice. Pets suffer from flooding too!
We are in the process of drawing up a list of potential sources of funding to go alongside the Lead Flood Authority’s bid to Central Government for grant-in-aid. The first round is in March. The community contribution is mandatory and without it we will fail to reach the next round. So the team is working extremely hard with the LFA to submit evidence, with a very tight deadline of 21st March, of how we will raise our potential contribution.
We have been to SE Derbyshire where they have spent 12 years dealing with their £9.3m flood mitigation scheme. This may sound a long time but they have had a very satisfactory outcome. We will also be visiting Cockermouth in Cumbria who were badly flooded in 2009 and where the town is now feeling more secure since their new Dutch designed river defences were installed. It helps to know how other communities have worked together to achieve successful results. All say it is a long arduous journey and how impressed they are with the short time it has taken Southwell to get to this stage. We must keep it up.
Flood mitigation is for the whole town, whether you flooded or not,
- your business may not have been affected, but we are your customers
- we want to be able to sell our houses when it is time to move on
- we want to be able to find affordable insurance
- we want to make our town a safe place to live, especially for children.
If you care about your community, if you value the place where you live, we urge you to do what you can to support the Flood Fund. The Flood Fund is there for everyone and everyone should play their part.
