The UK Prime Minister visits flood barrier training day in his constituency of Witney  -  26 November, 2010

Residents in Witney who regularly get flooded have now been provided with a temporary flood barrier which they will be deploying themselves next time the water levels get threatening. Oxfordshire County Council purchased a Geodesign Barrier for residents in West End, Witney and the manufacturer carried out the training, on Friday 26 November 2010. However, this was a training with a difference. Britt Warg, the UK Manager for Geodesign Barriers had invited the local MP to come and have a look and he accepted the invitation, saying he would be very interested to see this. He is, of course, David Cameron - the Prime Minister.  

As the MP for Witney, David Cameron was delighted that his constituency members now were protected against future floods. Mr Cameron spent some considerable time discussing flooding matters with Britt Warg and he also talked to the residents and representatives from Oxfordshire County Council and Witney District Council. “This is just like Meccano”, was one of the reactions heard from the Prime Minister as he had a go himself at applying a sealer clip to the top of the barrier.Mr Cameron also said there are many places in his constituency which could benefit from having this type of barrier. He was given a proposal from Geodesign Barriers, on how flood management could be made more effective in the UK, by making use of temporary, innovative methods.  



Britt Warg from Geodesign Barriers explains: “In today’s harsh economic climate permanent flood alleviation schemes are facing the axe or are being delayed by many years. Therefore, we have to look at alternative ways of ensuring people get the protection they need. The training we are carrying out today is an example of how this can be achieved.We have to start using innovative, temporary barriers instead of relying on the humble sandbag - or indeed ‘do nothing’. Moreover, as the number of Local Authority and Environment Agency staff are being reduced, we must involve local people to deploy their own barriers. When it comes to flooding, we really are in this together - in a ‘Big Flooded Society’.”  

She continues: “Because this barrier is so easy to understand and assemble, anyone can deploy it. Communities of various kinds can be trained by us and store the flat-packed barrier in their garages or gardens. For businesses, maybe a nearby yard or depot can be used as storage. With a lifespan of 60-90 years, the life cost of this barrier is very low and has to be compared to the cost of repairing a flooded property.” 

On a national level, Britt Warg would like to see the introduction of a new, national flood brigade: “Along with residents deploying their own flood defences, we also suggest the introduction of local ‘Flood Brigades’ - which would react to floods in the same way retained firemen or RNLI do. Anyone who would like to help protecting their local area could take part, such as flood wardens, ex emergency staff or voluntary organisations. This way, the ad hoc, ‘Dunkirk style’, sandbag carrying work forces we normally see during floods would be transformed into high achieving, more effective working groups. With regional depots of various temporary flood products, these volunteers could be trained by manufacturers in how to use the systems for best practice.”  

As for those known flooding hotspots, Geodesign Barriers’ flood emergency container can be placed close to site or even on it, if necessary. It contains barrier and pumps for a quick deployment when there is little lead time.  

Another solution is for Local Authorities to have a lorry constantly filled with barrier equipment and pumps, ready to go wherever needed and deployed by their own trained staff or indeed local Flood Brigades. Britt Warg says: “We offer demonstrations for Local Authorities where we use Geodesign Barrier’s 18 tonne emergency response lorry to show how it all would work, including setting up a length of barrier.”