By Cllr Frances Gaudencio Chair of the Flood Working Group, Hassocks Parish Council
Having been experiencing some hot summer days it may be easy to forget the incessant downpours which led to surface water flooding in Hassocks earlier this year. We are then reminded - by intense summer storms that have the same effect! These have not been a 1 in a 100 years event as modelling predicted! These have been regular occurrences with waterlogged fields, surface water pooling on roads, submerged gardens and water damage to some business premises.
We live in a lovely area at the foot of the South Downs on low lying ground with lots of streams. However, many fields have been built on with more hard surfacing for roads, front drives and parking, which means less water absorption through the earth and more going into our streams and drains - which struggle to cope in heavy rainfall. Whilst we love our abundant trees, heavy leaf fall on roads, if left uncleared, will often block the drains.
Hassocks Parish Council has sought to collaborate with other local groups committed to finding ways of mitigating some of the effects of heavy rainfall, surface water and fluvial ( rising river or stream levels ) flooding. In January of this year, we held our first meeting of The Flood Working Group. Its membership includes 5 Parish Councillors, representatives from HKD Transition, OART (Ouse and Adur Rivers Trust ) a Councillor from West Sussex County Council, a Councillor from Mid Sussex District Council and key officers from each of these Councils, who are invited to contribute their knowledge and respond to our questions and requests for support.
To date, we have collected a series of reports and audits on flood risk areas and maps of watercourses in Hassocks.
We have been looking at previous West Sussex County Council plans to deal with flooding and have asked for updates on what has been actioned. Many proposed ‘hard engineering ‘ interventions are very costly and so have not been implemented. So, we are exploring more natural options that we feel can be implemented quickly and at relatively low cost.
What we are doing now
The group has commissioned Peter King from OART to survey the stream flowing through Parish Council land at Parklands Copse, near the allotments. We are planning to create a couple of debris dams which would slow the flow and reduce the amount of water meeting at Spitalford Bridge. The idea is to prevent, for as long as possible, water impacting the shops near the bridge. Doing this will not increase the risk of flooding to properties near the Copse. Peter’s team will organise the building of the dams with construction by volunteers from HKD. The Parish Council is funding the project.
We have confirmed that West Sussex County Council has no objection to volunteers clearing leaves from drains and recommends they work safely and wear high vis jackets. These ‘first responders’ had jumped into action several times already but we needed to check the official position from West Sussex, who are responsible for drain clearances, but who may not be able to respond as quickly as local people.
We are exploring the possibility of installing trees pits – large holes for water retention with trees planted within, or large tubs of plants and flowers that would retain water – along the central pavements of the village. However much more research needs to be done.
Wider grass verges being converted to rain gardens will help to slow the flow of water. We are aiming to identify some pilot schemes with the consent of residents.
We will continue to work with the District and County Councils on all these proposals and others which are emerging.
What the community can do
The fantastic community spirit that exists in Hassocks, Clayton and Keymer can be channelled into making a huge difference to the way in which we deal with flooding.
If you are concerned about flooding, there are many suggestions and ideas to be gained from looking at the HKD website. For instance, you might want to consider making your own rain garden.
From the office of the Clerk to Hassocks Parish Council
Sources of information for more in - depth knowledge about this subject...
https://www.hkdtransition.org.uk/rain-gardens
https://www.hkdtransition.org.uk/news
The West Sussex Local Flood Risk Management Strategy 2015
Flood risk management
https://www.westsussex.gov.uk/fire-emergencies-and-crime/dealing-with-extreme-weather/flooding/flood-risk-management/
Online article - Surface water: The biggest flood risk of all
Speech by Sir James Bevan KCMG, Chief Executive, Environment Agency, CIWEM Surface Water Management Conference, 17 October 2018