ÐßÐßÊÓƵ

A lack of connection between local government and residents is a barrier towards community resilience to flooding, says new research co-authored by a leading climate social-science specialist at ÐßÐßÊÓƵ (ÐßÐßÊÓƵ) Leicester.

The UK faces recurring flood events, with 5.2 million homes now at risk from flooding and coastal erosion. This increasing risk highlights the importance of resilience planning, according to the by ÐßÐßÊÓƵ’s Dr Ruth McKie and Dr Adam Aitken from the University of Salford.

Resilience planning involves communities working together and interacting with organisations to be able to prepare, mitigate, adapt and recover from flood emergencies.

Publication of the research has come just weeks after ÐßÐßÊÓƵ was announced as a new hub of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 11 – Sustainable Cities and Communities.

Funded by the British Academy, the report is based on a case study conducted in Matlock, Derbyshire, which has faced extreme flooding and several near-misses in the last few years. The study recommends three main courses of action:

• Ensure that policies are founded on the local knowledge and experiences of community members.
• Increase communication and assistance between community members and local government through ‘town hall’ meetings.
• Provide small local grants to community groups for nature-based solutions.

Flooding mitigation work in Matlock, Derbyshire

Residents engaged in self-protective behaviours, acting as a ‘flood neighbourhood watch,’ using visual cues such as river levels and drain conditions, and sharing information through social media and phone contacts to make sure they were prepared for flooding.

Challenges identified in Matlock included a dated and weak sewage and drainage system; existing solutions to flooding that are meant to be sustainable but are ineffective; and the high cost of home and business insurance which, in some cases, cannot be accessed because of repeated and ongoing flooding.

Dr McKie said: “The residents of Matlock were and remain on the front lines of flooding and they have their own knowledge and experience to draw on.

“Additionally, they have a great knowledge of the environment, the species that live there, and if and how the existing infrastructure can support, for instance, introducing new housing developments. It’s clear that Matlock’s residents were introducing their own measures to protect the town, but more needed to be done by those outside to help.

“This emerged in the feelings of disconnect and frustration of residents who felt that institutions like the local council and water companies had not fully engaged in a dialogue with the community about how the flooding and responses to flooding affect them.”

A water attenuation pond in Matlock

An issue that could intensify the problems is a for hundreds of new houses on hillside fields near the town. Residents are concerned about the impact of new housing developments on flooding, however, Dr McKie and Dr Aitken found that they often feel unheard and have developed alternative proposals based on local knowledge, focussing on natural flood defences.

Dr McKie said: “They came together in social action groups such as Save our Wolds’, which are community residents with a shared connection, interest and pride for Matlock to protect from unsustainable proposals.

“They work closely together to understand their own land and environment, doing ecological surveys, proposing natural defences in attempts to prevent and reduce flooding. In doing so with appropriate investment and infrastructural changes supported by local government, these would prove a better way of addressing flooding in the community.

“Matlock is the target of proposed housing developments in response to the lack of housing and the government’s proposal to address this challenge. But as residents highlight, there isn’t the environmental, financial or social infrastructure such as school places, GP services and public transport to accommodate a growing population so, until that is done, then these developments need to be paused.

By fostering social connections and valuing local knowledge, authorities across the UK can create a more collaborative and effective flood resilience strategy, the report concludes. This is potentially applicable to other environmental challenges posed by the climate emergency.

Dr McKie said: “We need to integrate more community partnerships and forge stronger opportunities for civic participation by communities in all areas of flood prevention and mitigation. Community resilience becomes ever more important in not only supporting individual communities but how we can learn from each other to build a better and more coordinated national response to flooding.

“We need policy changes and developments that don’t just come from the top but could be holistically drawn up in collaboration with communities that will not only strengthen the relationships between communities and councils, but also better address the environmental changes ahead.”