Events
Enabling community maintenance for local FRM - new guidance
Join us for the launch of CIRIA’s new guidance Enabling community maintenance for local flood risk management (C821) to explore approaches to empowering local community groups to maintain flood risk infrastructure and improve their local environment if they wish to do so.
Background
Community resilience to flood risks is essential. Support is required for communities to become climate champions if they want to get involved in the management of their flood risk.
This webinar will introduce CIRIA’s new guidance on approaches to enable and empower local community groups to undertake safe, appropriate and routine maintenance of local flood risk management (FRM) infrastructure (surface water and ordinary watercourses). This will improve local resilience and define how communities can work on a voluntary basis with Risk Management Authorities (RMAs) to better reduce local flood risk.
The guidance will improve resilience and the relationships between RMAs and communities, recognising they can have a key role in flood risk management and the delivery of better places and spaces.
Attendees will hear from the author team, and learn more about the guidance which includes:
- Guidance for community groups – engaging guidance outlining approaches and maintenance activities for specific flood risk management assets.
- Guidance for RMAs – succinct guidance focused on approaches to facilitating and enabling community groups to undertake maintenance supporting the principles document, good practice and the policy context.
- Policy briefing document – a short document for policy and strategy staff setting out the reasons for progressing community maintenance
Sponsorship opportunities
For information about sponsorship opportunities, please contact Tam Simmons.
Why attend
Benefits for community groups
- Learn how to actively manage flood risks and improve the local environment.
- Discover easy-to-use guidance on the maintenance of local flood risk management infrastructure.
- Improve understanding of flood risk management approaches.
- Develop successful and longer-term relationships with RMAs.
- Overcome challenges and learn how to work more effectively with RMAs to deliver local improvements.
Benefits for RMAs
- Develop a better understanding of the role that RMAs have with regards to managing watercourses.
- Identify ‘success factors’ for establishing good procedures and working practices to enable community-led maintenance.
- Deliver multiple benefits through improving the quality of places and spaces, amenity and improving local social cohesion.
- Develop successful and longer-term relationships with RMAs.
- Generate savings in operational and maintenance budgets – community maintenance will enable RMAs to manage their flood risk management infrastructure that may otherwise be uneconomic to maintain.
- Earn valuable CPD
Who should attend
- Regulators including Environment Agency, Natural Resources Wales, and SEPA
- Risk management authorities (RMAs)
- Lead Local Flood Authorities
- Water and sewerage companies
- National Highways
- Internal drainage boards
- Private, riparian landowners
- Community flood resilience groups
- Rivers and wildlife trusts
- Other relevant third sector groups
Programme
10:30 Welcome and introduction
Adrien Baudrimont, Senior Research Manager, CIRIA
Overview of the guidance
10:50 Policy perspective
Clare Twigger-Ross, Principal Consultant, Eunomia Research and
Consulting
11:05 Maintenance measures for community groups to undertake
Jonathan Simm, Technical Director, Flood and Water Management,
HR Wallingford
11:25 How community groups (new and existing) can support flood resilience
Alan Rouane, Head of Engagement, National Flood Forum
11:35 Case study demonstrating community maintenance
Clive Manvell, Chairman, The Hanneys Flood Group
11:45 RMAs' perspective on the guidance and how it will enable community
maintenance for local FRM
Emma Thomson, Advisor, Community Resilience,
Environment Agency
11:55 Interactive discussion and Q&A
11:25 Closing remarks
When
Wednesday 16 July 202510:30 - 12:30