Sunday, December 5, 2021

Severn Trent invites residents in Stroud to learn about £25m upgrade

Our blog is still dormant but there is now a new Friends of Ruscombe Valley group that may come together - if interested in going do get in touch with me. 

In the meantime some long over due news re upgrades in Stroud area....Tomorrow Severn Trent is hosting a community drop-in session for residents in Stroud, where they can hear about ambitious plans to upgrade the waste network in their area. Here's their press release:

The water and waste company is investing £25 million to help prevent sewer flooding and river pollution across the Gloucestershire town. This major overhaul of the sewer network includes plans to;
• Install approximately three kilometres of bigger waste pipes to create more capacity during heavy rainfall
• Separate surface water from the sewage network
• Create additional storage with smart controls, holding water back during large storm events and returning it back to the treatment works when the rainfall has subsided 
• Improvements at Stanley Downton Sewage Treatment Works

Nick Burtoft, Lead Project Manager at Severn Trent, said: “We’re passionate about taking care of our environment, which is why we’re taking action in Stroud to protect homes and rivers from sewer flooding. 
“We know this is a topic our customers feel really strongly about. We feel the same, so we’re investing £25 million to completely overhaul the waste network across the town, which will go a long way towards protecting the River Frome and other local watercourses. Communities are set to benefit from increased capacity and state-of-the-art technology that’ll completely transform the waste network that will last for generations.”

Nick added: “Before we start work in early 2022, we want to meet with local people and business owners to share our plans and to listen to any concerns. It’s important to us that people who live and work in the area can give their input.”

Severn Trent recently shared the role it’s playing across the region to give nature a helping hand. The company revealed it’s investing £1.2bn to improve the environment, help sustainability and to support its customers. As part of these plans, the company is reviving 12,000 acres of land and planting 1.3 million trees, culminating in the restoration of 2,000km of rivers.  Regionally, the company is also investing £355 million to improve sewer overflows, used to protect communities from flooding. Teams are supporting 9,000 farmers to keep pesticides out of rivers too, and by 2025, will also invest a further £566 million in projects which will benefit communities and the environment, including rivers. 

The team from Severn Trent will be at The Subscription Rooms, George Street, Stroud, GL5 1AE on Tuesday 7 December from 4pm to 7pm.

Monday, December 26, 2016

Blog and group dormant!

At the moment our group is sleeping! We are delighted to have achieved most of our aims and are taking break from the brook. However do get in touch if you are interested in finding out more or getting another local project going.

Saturday, January 16, 2016

England’s waters to remain illegally polluted beyond 2021

England set to break extended deadline to meet EU water pollution targets and already risks legal action for failing to meet original 2015 deadline. Read more in this Guardian article here.

Monday, September 21, 2015

The film of Sustainable Drainage in Stroud Valleys is out!

Follow the link to Stroud Community TV to see this great 20 minute film: http://stroudcommunity.tv/rural-sustainable-drainage/

The project has come out of much of the work started many years ago by Ruscombe Brook Action Group and other local action groups especially folk like Sandy Coulborn, Tim Davies and Cllr Sarah Lunnon. We are delighted to see Rural Sustainable Drainage in action and are sure that it significantly lessens the chance of floods like those we saw in 2007 (see pic of Slad Road above).

Friday, February 13, 2015

Follow Chris Uttley on Twitter!

We recommend following Chris Uttley on Twitter as he has been appointed to manage the Stroud Ruarl Sustaiunable Drainage project for Stroud District Council. Chris is a former chair of the Ruscombe Brook Action Group and previously specialising in water for Countryside Council for Wales. He tweets photos and news of the work being done in the Five Falleys.

Follow at: https://twitter.com/Stroud_RSuDS

Thursday, July 31, 2014

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/