Dear fellow resident,
Many thanks to all of you who attended February’s Parish Council Meeting at which the flooding issues in the parish caused by Storm Ciara on Sunday 9th February were discussed. The minutes will be published on the CPC website in the next few days for those of you who were not able to attend.
It is clear that many residents, some still trying to recover from the damage caused to their homes, are struggling to understand why the flooding happened, and identify ways to protect themselves in the future.
It seems that some authorities who have a duty to investigate (e.g. TWBC and Kent County Council) may not be aware of the scale of the flooding here in Capel. It would be helpful if people whose homes (not garages/gardens) were affected could report this to both TWBC and KCC.
There are three reasons for this:
1) As Lead Local Flood Authority for Kent, Kent County Council has a duty to investigate flood incidents as detailed within Section 19 of the Flood and Water Management Act 2010.
2) Depending on the outcome of their investigation, KCC are best placed to hold other authorities, such as Southern Water, to account for mistakes made.
3) TWBC may be able to help residents to access government grant schemes for flood defences or to help uninsured people, provided certain criteria are met. One of these criteria is that a certain number of properties are affected.
To report flooding to Kent County Council, you can call 03000 418181 or your county councillor sarah.hamilton@kent.gov.uk
Residents can access support from TWBC by contacting the Borough Councillor by email Carol.Mackonochie@tunbridgewells.gov.uk
Please copy the Capel Parish Council clerk into any correspondence: clerk@capelpc.co.uk so that the parish council is also aware of the full extent of the problem; this will help us in trying to co-ordinate representations being made to the responsible authorities.