Memorandum submitted by Tewkesbury Chamber
of Commerce and Industry (FL 64)
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Tewkesbury Chamber of Commerce and Industry
(TCCI) recognises the great recovery efforts made by many following
the severe flooding after 20 July 2007. However this submission
outlines areas where it feels the Committee should investigate
in order to help lessen the impact of future floods.
In particular, TCCI believes that the following
areas should be investigated:
— Command and control of the situation
— Potential loss of power from the
Walham sub-station
— Support for Tewkesbury businesses
— Emergency Service actions
— Environment Agency actions
— Adequacy of current flood prevention
measures
This submission outlines shortcomings in the
above areas and welcomes the opportunity from the Committee to
contribute to the Flood Inquiry.
INTRODUCTION
On Friday 20 July, Tewkesbury and the surrounding
area experienced heavy and persistent rainfall amounting to 10.87
cm on that one day alone. The result of this unseasonal and extraordinary
weather had immediate and long-lasting effects on the area. This
submission outlines some suggestions from Tewkesbury Chamber of
Commerce for the Committee in order to learn from the experience
and prevent or reduce the effects if a similar event happens in
the future.
Our submission predominantly focuses on the
business community. Information forming part of this submission
has been gathered from first hand evidence from local businesses
and survey results (see Appendix 1 for survey questions).
1. CONTROL &
COMMAND
1.1 Lack of apparent leadership of the situation
Residents and businesses of Tewkesbury Borough
and Town look to their respective Councils for leadership. However
our perception and observations are that the two authorities didn't
work as closely together on this common issue as they might. Inevitably
this leads to oversights or duplication of effort.
1.2 Emergency systems
Whilst the public were aware of Cobra meetings
and Gold Meetings at the Combined Emergency services HQ at Waterwells,
communications further down the command chain at local levels
was not apparent.
1.3 Disaster recovery
Were local authority and emergency services'
disaster recovery plans sufficient? Do they need to be overhauled
to include flood and cover other potential disasters like riots,
plane crashes, fire, terrorist actions on a large scale.
2. EMERGENCY
ASSISTANCE
2.1 Lack of Resources
Insufficient presence was on the scene on the
day of the floods (Friday). The area needed fire service, ambulance
and police help from other areas as soon as the severity of the
situation emerged—from 1pm on Friday 20 July.
Priority should have been to keep the local
infrastructure open for locals to get home. M5 was gridlocked,
which stopped locals getting home—many spent the night at
work, in cars and local pubs including GCHQ and Zurich Financial
Services, as it was too dangerous to travel. Why wasn't motorway
traffic re-routed for people passing through the area? The environment
agency warned about the sever weather, but this didn't translate
to Police warnings for people not to travel unless necessary and
avoid the area.
2.2 Police barricades.
From 21 July until 25 July, Police prevented
many business personnel from entering Tewkesbury, thereby securing
their premises from looting, clearing damage and re-opening for
business.
2.3 Fire & Rescue Services (FRS)
Rightly acclaimed for all they help they provided
to the Town, the fire and rescue services were however inconsistent
in their understanding and application of their own policy towards
helping businesses. Some retailers were refused help pumping out
their basements, unless they paid. Others rang 999 and were added
to the list of people to help free of charge. Television interviews
with local FRS representatives actively encouraged people to request
their help following deaths at Tewkesbury Rugby Club.
3. ACCESS TO
TEWKESBURY
3.1 Infrastructure review.
The Chamber questions whether the existing road
infrastructure is robust enough to deal with flash flooding e.g.
M5 between junctions 11b and 6 and roads into Tewkesbury e.g.
A38, A48, B4080. No road access was possible for a few days after
the flood, apart from to certain forms of transport e.g. boats
or Red Cross lorry
3.2 Policing of the town.
Police blocked traders from entering the Town
on foot, to check and open their shops for people trapped in the
Town, despite most being safe to do so. In future genuine traders
should be allowed through the Police cordon. This increased their
loss of trade and when traders have tried to claim on their insurance
policies under obstruction clauses, their requests have been declined.
3.3 Shuttle buses
Transport in the form of lorries or tractors
could have ferried key business workers in and out of the Town
to start evaluating the situation; begin the clean-up operation
and open their businesses as soon as possible.
3.5 Tewkesbury isolated
As access to the Town from the outside was so
limited, it was in danger of being besieged from resources outside
the Town.
4. SUPPORT FOR
TEWKESBURY BUSINESSES
4.1 Flood relief
SWRDA and Gloucestershire First's Flood Relief
Scheme for businesses excludes money for loss of trade and does
not necessarily help those who need most help. Chamber surveyed
Tewkesbury businesses and 97% of 78 respondents advised that this
was the biggest impact of the flood, compared with 42% reporting
property damage; 38% reporting stock damage and 27% reporting
equipment damage. £2500 is the maximum award per eligible
business, which is too low. Regrettably the owner of the Pride
of Avon boats, Dave Garfitt is selling his tourist boat trips
along the River Avon, because his takings are 50% lower than normal.
His business is unlikely to be the last to close. Telstar Cruisers
who have lost months of orders and are still getting cancellations
now for next month, but cannot show invoices for lost materials,
and cannot insure for such lost sales and cannot put it against
loss of earnings.
4.2 Bureaucracy of the Flood Relief Scheme
Traders have to submit balance sheets, accounts
and other details. The Chamber understand the need to ensure flood
relief goes to the most needy, but a fast-track interim scheme
needs to be drawn up to speed up the process. When your business
and livelihood is flooded, sitting down to prepare accounts is
not always practical or possible. Do the flood victims of other
countries have to fulfil the same flood relief criteria ?
4.3 Permission delays for skips
Authorities compounded problems with bureaucracy
e.g. some businesses were unable to re-open quickly, as they had
to wait weeks for permission to place a skip outside their premises.
One shop Options in Barton Street was delayed getting permits
from Gloucestershire Highways, suggesting they did not have emergency
measures to speed up the process in emergency situations.
5. WATER
5.1 Mythe Water Treatment Works
Why was such a vital water treatment works so
vulnerable?
5.2 Severn Trent's response
Why was Severn Trent initially unprepared to
react to the emergency situation? For example the Red Cross was
one of the first to deliver water to local communities, along
with local councilors, using their own transport e.g. Tugwells.
5.3 Lack of compensation
Severn Trent have decided to donate "compensation"
money to be distributed by other parties. This is a "double
whammy" for businesses such as hairdressers and catering
businesses who rely on water to open for business.
5.4 No early warning
TCCI understand that Severn Trent were aware
that the water table was unusually high in July, before the downfall.
Could they have liaised with other bodies e.g. Met Office and
Environment Agency to warn that heavy downpours could have affected
the area adversely?
6. POTENTIAL
LOSS OF
POWER
6.2 Walham Sub-station
Why was the Walham sub-station in such a vulnerable
position, without anyone to man the premises or apparent contingency
arrangements to switch supply other stations?
7. IMPROVED COMMUNICATIONS
7.1 Delays
As described in 2, local residents and businesses
were initially unaware of the severity of the situation and national
media seemed unaware of what was happening. The emergency services
could have played a bigger part ensuring that warnings and messages
got out—they have PR and communications departments that
must have been able to access information from the central Gloucestershire
Emergency Services Call Centre in Waterwells, without impacting
on the relief effort.
7.2 No pre-appointed place for people to seek
help and advice
Local radio and other media was the only source
of information for most, assuming they still had power. For those
who didn't have power, it was not obvious where people should
go for help and advice. Why can't local authorities communicate
a central place which could be used in times of emergency to co-ordinate
advice, relief and co-ordinate volunteer services?
7.3 Misleading information
From the Sunday 22 July, media were warning
of potential power and water losses. Incorrect telephone numbers
for Severn Trent were read out and it was almost impossible to
gather accurate information.
7.4 Improved websites
Local authorities, emergency services and the
Environment Agency must have the resources in place to ensure
that their websites can be accessible with sufficient network
capability and updated 24 hours/day, 7days/week and 365 days a
year. The flood in the Tewkesbury area happened on a Friday and
over the weekend it was either impossible to connect to the Environment
Agency website or, in the case of the Tewkesbury Borough/Town
Councils, very little or no information (in the case of the Town
Council) was posted until the following week.
8. ENVIRONMENT
AGENCY
8.1 Website and resources
Why was their website almost impossible to access
over the weekend 21-22 July with up to date information? The Agency's
website hasn't been a comprehensive source of information for
a while e.g. floods pre and post Christmas 2006 failed to warn
motorists of road closures in Upton-on-Severn—again this
experience was a Sunday 10 December 2006 and Sunday 14 January
2007. The website was painfully slow and then failed to inform
and warn motorists of the need to detour around the Town. Cover
needs to be sufficient to cope with huge demand for information
and this cover needs to be at all hours and days.
8.2 River maintenance
Please explore whether the Carrant Brook and
River Isbourne were sufficiently free from debris and silt to
have lessened flooding in Tewkesbury and surrounding villages
e.g. Mitton, Sedgberrow, Aston on Carrant, Beckford, Toddington.
8.3 Insufficient authority
Tewkesbury Chamber and local businesses are
not confident that the Environment Agency has sufficient authority
to influence planning and carry out as much flood prevention as
may be necessary. Would the creation of a specific flood agency
have remedied this?
Should the Environment Agency have more teeth,
so they can force land owners to maintain the existing ditches
and rivers in good order? Should they have a veto on building
plans if in a designated area of flooding risk and also a directive
to push for better water retention of properties like the use
of gravel car parks rather than concrete, which send the rain
water into the ditches instantly rather than in a controlled rate?
Should more trees be planted, so for every house, five trees of
native species tree are planted as near the property as possible
(avoiding subsidence hazards) and for every 1/4 of a mile away
this number doubles. So for example, if Persimmon Homes want to
build a 50 house estate they have to plant 250 trees either on
the plot or if a mile away 1000, and these trees are to be maintained
by the builder for ten years.
10. INSURANCE
10.1 Implications for the future.
A survey carried out by Tewkesbury Chamber of
Commerce & Industry found that 9 out of 55 Tewkesbury businesses
replied that at the time of the floods 20 July, they either couldn't
get insurance or it was too expensive to arrange. Tewkesbury Chamber
is concerned that future businesses will be unable to take out
insurance against flood damage and loss of trade as it will be
uneconomic to do so. This may result in businesses pulling out
of the Town and only national chains would be able to afford the
running costs—changing the nature of Tewkesbury as one of
the loveliest market towns.
10.2 Insurance claims
Tewkesbury Chamber has received information
that insurers are avoiding claims by businesses where they were
obstructed by the Police from entering their businesses to clear-up
and re-open. Insurers are arguing that obstruction means obstruction
by say neighbouring premises collapsing and blocking access.
11. RECENT CONSTRUCTION
11.1 Cause and effect
Did new and recent building developments in
the Tewkesbury area contribute to the severity of the flooding?
11.2 Drainage
Was the drainage sufficient to cope with extra
buildings recently built?
11.3 Improved planting
If flood meadows are planted with willow beds
that are harvested, the willow could be used to power electricity
generators powering the national grid. The willows will also slow
the water flow/levels down and keep the soil stable below.
12. HEALTH &
SAFETY
12.1 Public warnings
Was the public given sufficient warnings about
drinking water and the dangers of walking through flood water?
12.2 Mosquitoes
August and September have seen the area invaded
by mosquitoes more commonly found in the Mediterranean area. Locals
have frequently reported severe bites, many of which caused severe
itching, inflammation, blistering and antibiotic treatment from
GPs. Could communications or warnings have been improved?
13. ADEQUACY
OF CURRENT
FLOOD PREVENTION
MEASURES
13.1 Flood prevention
Flood prevention measures like those in Bewdley
and Upton need to be reviewed to see if instead of speeding the
waters down past these towns, water can be slowed and controlled
by weirs or land alongside that can be flooded instead.
Do current flood prevention measures cover river
valleys and catchment areas, as well as flood plains? In the case
of Tewkesbury initial floods occurred because of run-off from
hills (particularly the North Cotswold escarpment) into Carrant
Brook and Isbourne River, flooding some areas not normally classed
as flood plains or potentially flood areas by the Environment
Agency e.g. Kinsham village.
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