Natural Flood Management
Dear Colleagues,
On behalf of Flood Action 4 Buckingham (FA4B), I would like to thank Buckinghamshire Council's Lead Local Flood Authority team for the positive and constructive meeting regarding the Upper Great Ouse Natural Flood Management Programme.
We were encouraged by the Council's continued support for Natural Flood Management and by the recognition that the extensive technical work already completed provides a strong foundation upon which to build. The original programme demonstrated that there are viable opportunities throughout the Upper Great Ouse catchment to reduce flood risk, improve environmental resilience and deliver wider benefits for communities and landowners alike.
FA4B particularly welcomes the opportunity to revisit the programme in light of the significant changes that have occurred since the original studies were completed, including new environmental funding mechanisms, Biodiversity Net Gain opportunities, Countryside Stewardship schemes, climate resilience priorities and the need to consider catchment changes arising from HS2 and other developments.
Our collective view is that the challenge is no longer one of identifying opportunities, but of creating the partnerships, governance arrangements and funding pathways required to deliver them. FA4B is committed to support Buckinghamshire Council and other partners in moving from study to implementation.
As discussions progress, we believe there is an important opportunity for the Environment Agency to play a central leadership and coordinating role. The Agency is already engaged in wider flood resilience and catchment planning work across the Great Ouse system, and the proposed Upper Great Ouse Catchment Resilience and Delivery Programme aligns closely with the Agency's objectives for catchment-scale resilience, nature-based solutions and partnership delivery.
FA4B would therefore welcome the Environment Agency's support in:
Working with the Upper & Bedford Ouse Catchment Partnership, or other.
Assisting with the refresh and update of existing catchment modelling.
Facilitating cross-boundary collaboration between Buckinghamshire and West Northamptonshire.
Supporting the identification and coordination of funding opportunities.
Helping to develop a long-term delivery programme that combines Natural Flood Management, river restoration, flood storage and climate adaptation measures across the catchment.
Working with Anglian Water to develop a "whole water" strategy
We believe the time is right to bring together all key stakeholders and create a shared programme that can deliver measurable reductions in flood risk for Buckingham and downstream or Buckingham while also achieving wider environmental and climate resilience benefits throughout the Upper Great Ouse catchment.
FA4B looks forward to continuing to work positively with Buckinghamshire Council, the Environment Agency and all delivery partners to turn the considerable work already undertaken into a practical and deliverable programme of action.
Thank you once again for your engagement and support.
Kind regards,
Flood Action for Buckingham (FA4B)