Shipston Area Flood Action Group (SAFAG) has been awarded the Environment Agency Flood and Coast Excellence 2021 Award for Community Partnership.
SAFAG is a community led volunteer team which aims to reduce the risk of flooding to homes and businesses by installing Natural Flood Management (NFM) measures across the entire 187sq km upstream catchment of the River Stour in Warwickshire which also includes large parts of Cotswold (Gloucs) and Cherwell (Oxon) Districts.
The group has members from Brailes, Long Compton, Tredington, Newbold and Alderminster as well as Shipston and since 2017 has installed over 700 wooden dams and ponds to hold back and slow the flow from upstream tributaries into the Stour during periods of heavy rainfall.
Some 17 villages and towns as well as numerous smaller settlements are already benefitting from this work.
In their qualifying remarks the judges noted that:
“This is a really good example of how to do Natural Flood Management really well and (we) were very impressed by its intrinsically local feel – from being community led to using local knowledge, local contractors and leveraging local funding. This extremely effective approach is the very definition of an exemplary Community Partnership.”
On behalf of the group, SAFAG’s Chairman Phil Wragg responded with gratitude:
“This award gives SAFAG recognition at national level. It is the culmination of 5 years work by a fantastic volunteer group and wouldn’t have happened without the willing support of over 40 farmers and landowners to whom we give huge thanks. Thanks also to the Environment Agency for their unstinting support and also to relevant Parish, Town, District and County Council’s and many others who have played a part.”
The EA Winner’s Certificate
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