As one of three DEFRA-funded national pathfinder partnerships, the Ox-Cam Property Flood Resilience (PFR) Pathfinder Project has launched to raise awareness and take-up of property flood resilience measures, which homeowners and businesses can install, to help lessen the impact of future flood events.
In the last month alone, communities across the Oxfordshire-Cambridgeshire arc region have faced significant disruption caused by flooding. With some homeowners having to evacuate over Christmas and Storm Christoph bringing further flood worries in 2021. The Ox-Cam PFR Pathfinder Project is able to engage with affected communities and demonstrate how resilience measures can be embedded, via the use of online resources, demonstration vehicles and buildings and virtual events.
The Ox-Cam PFR Pathfinder Project has launched a website, which provides access to useful Guides, resources, case study videos and signposts to project partners. It has also launched a Twitter and Facebook page which communities can follow for the very latest news and information. Details of a bespoke PFR demonstration vehicle ‘The Floodmobile’ and demonstration property at HR Wallingford will be announced shortly.
Mary Dhonau OBE, Property Flood Resilience Expert (residential) for the Ox-Cam PFR Pathfinder Project said: “Having been flooded myself, I know just how appalling it is. Winter rain is set to increase by a staggering 59% by 2050 and we can’t keep building longer and higher flood defences. I am therefore delighted to be working with the Ox-Cam Pathfinder Project to be able to highlight to those at flood risk, just what can be done to reduce the awful impact and speed up recovery.”
The Ox-Cam PFR team will be hosting a number of online community events to demonstrate the active steps that people can take to make properties and businesses resilient to flooding. PFR refers to measures that can be put on or in a property to help reduce the risk or impact of flooding and enable people to ‘build back better’ so they can get back into their homes or business premises much quicker after a flood.
Adds Matt Tandy, a Chartered Water and Environment Manager and PFR expert for businesses: “We are delighted to launch the Ox-Cam PFR Pathfinder Project’s online services and look forward to working closely with the many communities across the Oxford-Cambridge arc region to offer practical advice and PFR demonstrations. In doing so, we aim to support homeowners and businesses in taking decisive action so they can better prepare for future flood events and make real differences to protect lives and livelihoods.”
Examples of PFR include installing non-return valves on waste pipes, airbrick covers, using flood resistant coatings on walls and using flood barriers to stop water coming through doorways.
Led by Northamptonshire County Council, the Ox-Cam PFR Pathfinder Project is working in conjunction with Lead Local Flood Authorities from the following councils: Cambridgeshire County Council; Northamptonshire County Council; Oxfordshire County Council; Buckinghamshire Council, Central Bedfordshire Council; Milton Keynes Council; Luton Borough Council; and Peterborough City Council.
Other key project partners include The Environment Agency, Regional Flood and Coastal Committees (Anglian Central, Northern and Thames), Anglian Water, Thames Water and the DEFRA Property Flood Resilience Roundtable.
For more information, visit https://www.floodtoolkit.com/ox-cam-property-flood-resilience-pathfinder/ or follow the Ox-Cam PFR Pathfinder project on Twitter: https://twitter.com/oxcampfr or Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OxCamPFR.
