Stroud Rural Drainage - more good news!

As you see from the photo the Stroud News have reported more money to the Stroud Rural Drainage project - Ruscombe Brook Action Group are delighted by the news and can claim some very small role in helping kick off the idea and working with the likes of Green Party councillor Sarah Lunnon to bring this about. We are also delighted by news that our former Chair, Chris Uttley is now leading on the project with Stroud District Council.

We are under no illusions that there is work to be done but are delighted by this project that takes account of the whole Frome catchment.

See SNJ here: http://www.stroudnewsandjournal.co.uk/news/11375739.Council_funds_for_flood_protection/

May Day Walk: from the Source of the Slad Brook to its Confluence with the Frome

Here's a great poem from Stuart Butler re one of our other local streams. See: http://www.radicalstroud.blogspot.co.uk/2014/05/may-day-walk-from-source-of-slad-brook.html

Walking the brook: new flood catchment project and collapsing bridge

Friday lunchtime in the sun saw some of us walk up from Puckshole - we've had a couple of meetings recently looking at further actions re biodiversity, the on-going challenges of Severn Trent's work and news the great news that a post has been created to look at the Frome catchment.

County Cllr, Sarah Lunnon, writes: “For several years I have been working towards a Rural Sustainable Drainage Scheme (RSuDS) in the Frome catchment. The idea is that we keep water higher up in the catchment by encouraging it to soak into the soil. This slows the water down and reduces the risk of flooding downstream. Funding has now been agreed for 3 years. Not all flooding problems are the same, but experts agree that the way to reduce flood risk to low-lying ground is to reduce - not increase - water run-off."

Meanwhile the bridge (left) crossing the brook where there is a huge concrete slab is looking less happy - Jackie Harris from County Council was out to see it with one of our members last week - the water is eroding the concrete away underneath the slab - at some point it will collapse - in many ways this could be a good thing in terms of improving the flow of the brook - but is it dangerous to leave now? No we don't think so at the moment but action maybe desirable now....

So what are the options? Well much more discussion needed and talking to landowners etc.....

Flood and Drought film

See this local film that shows how flooding and droughts are linked: http://stroudcommunity.tv/flood-and-drought-in-stroud/

Monbiot in The Guardian on flooding

Ruscombe

George Monbiot writing in The Guardian says alot of what we have been saying for years....Mr Paterson, our Environment Minister certainly doesn't understand...he said last year"the purpose of waterways is to get rid of water"!!! Read more about his complete failures on this issue at:

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/jan/13/flooding-public-spending-britain-europe-policies-homes