Council praise for community clean-up
Written by John Williamson on 15/10/2018
A community clean-up event which was organised to protect homes against future flooding coincided with a weekend of flood warnings and alerts.
Residents in Kendal were busy clearing weeds and leaves and checking their flood protection equipment as heavy rainfall brought back memories of Storm Desmond in 2015.
South Lakeland District Council (SLDC) has praised members of the Castle Street Community Flood Action Group who had planned the tidy-up in preparation for winter.
Lis Dales, one of the leaders of the action group, said: “We were very anxious again at the weekend. Flooding is a life-changing event and things won’t be the same again. However, we were a strong local community before the flooding and we continue to pull together, determined to be resilient and do what we can to help each other.
“We were delighted that so many people turned out to support the event, sweeping up leaves, weeding and clearing up anything that would affect rainwater from draining away. It was also an opportunity to check flood gates and make sure we are as prepared as we can be.”
South Lakeland District Council (SLDC) works closely with a number of flood action groups to share important information and advice.
After the floods of 2015 almost £3.5 million was paid out to South Lakeland residents under a government flood grant scheme which was administered by SLDC.
The council received 1,397 applications for grants which were used to fund measures to improve resilience or resistance to flooding.
Councillor Dyan Jones, SLDC’s Portfolio Holder for Environment, said: “Members of the Castle Street Community Flood Action Group are to be congratulated for organising an event which enabled residents to prepare for winter and give them a little more peace of mind.
“Together they have shown real community spirit and, despite the heavy rainfall over the weekend, they stayed positive and kept busy helping each other.”
During the event residents shared the latest flood advice and had a demonstration of flood control bags which can be used as an alternative to sandbags.
