Winter flood risk leads to urgent call for action

The manager of a business on the Norfolk Broads says he has had to invest in flood prevention measures after heavy rain and tides impacted trading for three months.

Parts of the shop, the parking area and garden centre were left under water at Latham's of Potter Heigham between November last year and January.

The company has not put a price on the impact but manager John Goldie told the BBC they had to take action ahead of next winter.

It comes as Norfolk County Council issues advice to businesses and residents that heavy rain in spring and a cool summer means many parts of the county are still at risk of rising waters.

Mr Goldie, who has worked at the store for 10 years, said the flooding last winter was the worst he had known.

"We've sunk a sump pump into the store itself, so this should - the minute it [flood water] flows in - suck it straight out," he said.

"We've sunk another pump [in the garden centre] and laid piping and the pump will kick in and run it automatically out and flow to the dyke at the back of the store.

"We've raised the dyke bank to give us some more capacity there, and we've put some non-return valves in so it shouldn't come back.

"The thought of it coming back is just around the corner [but] we will deal with it when it happens."

Paul Rice, a senior volunteer flood warden for the Ant, Bure and Thurne river areas, said: "The water table is definitely rising and there is a multi agency approach to try to sort some of the issues out.

"The authorities involved are stepping up to the mark and are starting to do things as promised at the meetings.

"If people have water courses running through their land, they need to make sure those water courses are cleared regularly.

"Most landowners are good but from my travels around the area, some seem to have done nothing."

The county council said figures from the Environment Agency showed East Anglian river flows in June were up to 172% of the long term average as additional water remains trapped in the system.

Henry Cator, chair of the Norfolk Strategic Flooding Alliance (NSFA), said: "For many people in Norfolk the memory of last winter’s floods is still fresh, but because of the wet spring and summer we’ve experienced, we have no time to relax.

"There’s a real chance of flooding earlier than usual this year, which means homeowners can’t afford to wait until the autumn to prepare.

"We all need to start thinking, planning and acting now to keep our properties safe and dry this winter."

Norfolk County Council says higher than normal ground water means rain is less likely to soak into the ground, causing flooding.

It recommended ditches and drains are kept clear, and that water butts could give additional storage capacity which might prevent flooding.

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