Landowners in Poynton are being invited to a flood prevention event to explore innovative methods to reduce flood risk within the town.
Hosted by the Environment Agency, the event will provide landowners and other interested parties with the chance to speak with experts in Natural Flood Management who will give advice on the technicalities of putting NFM interventions in on their land.
The event will take place on Tuesday 3rd March between 6pm and 7:30pm at St Martin Church, Shrigley Rd N Poynton, SK12 1TE.
National Flood Management (NFM) has already proved effective in slowing and storing surface water run-off threatening residents in Bolton as part of the pioneering Smithills Estate Scheme. Smithills is a mixture of moorland land, grassland and woodland. At the site, measures such as leaky dams (living log jams) were placed in strategic locations in the uplands – these are stepped living log sections were created to slow flow and soak up water. Other measures include wetlands and scrapes (shallow excavations to let water hold into the landscape) and dams made of peat or seedless rush bales (from nearby farms as part of their farm management).
David Brown Senior Adviser for Flood Risk with the Environment Agency said: “In Poynton, we want to work closely with residents and landowners to identify possible locations upstream of Poynton to attenuate and temporarily store rainfall to reduce flood risk downstream in Poynton.”
“Although natural techniques are not considered to be the single solution, natural Flood Management forms part of the mosaic of measures which can help reduce the risk of flooding. Natural Flood Management complements flood defences like walls and embankments with measures that protect, restore and emulate the natural processes of catchments, rivers, floodplains and coasts.”
If you are unable to attend the meeting but would like further information please contact: FloodResilienceGMMC@environment-agency.gov.uk
