Flood Defence
Please follow this link to fill an on-line form concerning Flood Defence, or if you have any other queries.
Flood defence is the protection of life and property from flooding
Kennet District Council is the operating authority for ordinary watercourse such as tributaries and ditches within the District. As an operating authority the Council has permissive powers, administered by Environment and Amenity Services, to require landowners to clean their watercourses.
The Council has a limited budget to carry out improvements to ordinary watercourses to prevent property flooding the Flood Defence Policy Statement may be viewed on Kennets website.
The Council works in partnership with the Environment Agency (External link) who has similar permissive powers for main rivers within the District, Wiltshire County Council (External link) who maintain the highway drainage systems, Parish Councils and Land Owners. The Environment Agency has not identified any areas of flooding that will affect large numbers of people or property, there are however individual properties at risk of flooding from watercourses, groundwater and surface water flooding. Environment and Amenity Services can advise on known flooding locations.
Property owners are responsible for protecting their own properties from flooding. The Environment Agency’s website (External link) offers owners practical advice about how to protect their property against flooding, information about the flood warnings currently in force and the property’s flood risk.
If resources allow, the Council may provide sandbags free of charge to domestic properties that have been flooded or are in imminent danger of flooding. The Council’s policy on issuing sandbags may be viewed on this website.
If you require further information or require assistance with flood defence or land drainage matters please complete the online form at the top of the page or contact the Engineering and Design Manager, Environment and Amenity Services on Tel 01380 724911.