Council gears up for winter
As cold winds and rain replace the record mild days of autumn, Winchester City Council has been reviewing its preparations for potential severe weather events over the winter.
Alongside improvements to local infrastructure that have cost millions of pounds over the last two years, the Council has been ensuring that it can quickly mobilise staff and materials in a weather emergency.
The Council’s Portfolio Holder for Environment, Health & Wellbeing, Cllr Frank Pearson, was present at the depot at Bar End to see the Special Maintenance Team put through their paces using a portable flood barrier. Purchased after the floods of February 2014, which left many neighbourhoods in difficulty around the Winchester District, the flood barrier can quickly be deployed to hold back water in the most vulnerable areas.
Cllr Pearson said:
I was impressed by how quickly and efficiently the team could put the wall together, and ensure it was configured to go around corners and up kerbs. It took around 15 minutes to get the structure in place.
Elsewhere in the depot, a stock of 500 sandbags has been ordered, and is carefully stored for rapid deployment. Although residents and businesses are expected to buy in their own sandbags and prepare their premises for severe weather, the emergency stock can be distributed to vulnerable people, used to protect Council properties such as the leisure centre or Abbey House, or used to build temporary neighbourhood defences in a hurry.
Staff are also ready with 10m3 of salt and two 4x4s for delivery, should the weather turn frosty. The salt is for well-used paths and public areas, such as outside busy Council premises or areas where vulnerable people are likely to need to go. The Council’s contractors, the IDverde, also have salt and a spreader ready to grit the public car parks of the Winchester District.
Back at the offices, Council staff from across the departments have signed up for refresher training run by the County Council’s Emergency Planning Team. Scores of staff learn how to respond to emergencies of all kinds, including bad weather, and are assigned roles ranging from incident liaison officers reporting back from sites around the District to control room supervisors. Cllr Pearson added:
Winchester’s response to the floods of 2014 was considered to be highly effective and sympathetic. With that experience under our belts, and the support of our colleagues from a range of agencies including Hampshire Fire and Rescue and the Environment Agency, we are confident that we can support our residents and businesses through the worst of the winter season ahead.
Alongside operational preparations, works continue – led by Winchester City Council and Hampshire County Council - to make infrastructure improvements around the District to protect residents and businesses from the worst of winter flooding. These range from relatively small-scale projects such as the installation of flood gates at Durley Primary School to much more complex engineering solutions like the underground pipe in Hambledon and the defence structures being developed for Park Avenue in Winchester.