RESIDENTS in areas vulnerable to flooding are being consulted on their favoured protection measures.

At meetings with Whitchurch and Walkhampton residents, councillors and landowners last week concerns were raised about climate change and whether the authorities were prepared for the consequences of weather changes leading to more torrential rainfall.

The consultation is continuing by Westcountry Rivers Trust meeting groups in their village halls to discuss their priorities when protecting their homes, land and businesses from flood damage.

The WRT will pass the findings onto Government, Department of the Environment and measures will be discussed further with South West Water and Natural England, Dartmoor National Park Authority and landowners such as the Duchy.

Helen Staddon, WRT project officer for the rapid response cat5chment areas, said: “We are gathering the views of the community on their views from the grassroots as it were, from the people who live and work in the catchment areas of the rivers and streams. We have a range of measures on small scale which,when added up across the catchment can be very effective in managing water flow from heavy rainfall and reduce the likelihood of flooding downstream and affecting communities. With the views of local people we can develop thes responses and it will help us put in place the most effective measures.

“We’re in the early stages of gathering community views, but there’s been enthusiastic take-up of our invitations to consult and people from a range of backgrounds have contributed most positively.”

Helen described a range of small-scale measures which are being implemented to test their effectiveness responding to high rainfall in the Blackbrook catchment. These measures are also designed to prevent soilo loss, retain soil health, and preerve and encourage wildlife. Such projects include, so-called leaky dams which slow down water but do not stop it, using native wild plants and trees and hedges along streams and rivers to reduce water overflowing bank and slow water flow and reduce the sweeping away of nutrients, Also, managing graaing animals to reduce soil compaction and enable different grasses to be planted. Residents are also asked if they wish to join flood groups and become citizen scientists by collecting data from wildlife to assess the quality of and nature of river flow as early indicators of floods.

Graham Colton, landowner at Walkhampton works closely with WRT on flood measures: “I’m fully behind this consultation, especiually with climate change.”