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Wednesday 17 Sep 2025

South Gloucestershire residents invited to discuss flood resilience work

Region & Route:

Wales & Western: Western

Local residents are invited to discuss ongoing work to improve flood resilience near Chipping Sodbury and Yate in South Gloucestershire.

A community drop-in event will take place at Chipping Sodbury Town Hall from 4.30-7.30pm on Monday 29 September and everyone is welcome to come along.

An increase in extreme weather is causing a greater impact on the railway and local communities. Network Rail, the Environment Agency, South Gloucestershire Council and Wessex Water are working together to manage the risk of flooding in the area.

All four organisations will be available at the event to talk about recent work, plans for the future, to identify what homeowners can do and to answer any questions.

George Barrett, project manager for Network Rail, said:

“Our work in July saw the track raised, drainage channels cleared and a pump replaced.

“We’re now inviting everyone to come and discuss our work to develop long-term plans that will benefit the railway and local communities for decades to come.

“Excessive rainfall is now more common and we need to work together to find solutions to protect the railway and the area around it.”

A South Gloucestershire Council spokesperson said:

“With a changing climate and the resultant increased rainfall, the council welcomes members of the local community to come and discuss concerns they may have around surface water flooding and what they can do to reduce the risk to themselves.”

A Wessex Water spokesperson said:

“Wessex Water have recently invested £5 million in nearby Frampton Cotterell to mitigate against excessive rainfall entering and overwhelming the foul sewer network in south Gloucestershire.

“Alongside this ongoing work, we’re committed to supporting other flood risk management authorities’ activity to address surface water flooding, working together to increase resilience of drainage infrastructure.”

An Environment Agency spokesperson said:

“Environment Agency staff will be available to discuss the work they do across the Bristol Frome River catchment to help communities become more resilient to flooding and improve the environment. They will also be on hand to support residents to understand and plan for their flood risk.”

ENDS