Hundreds of Derbyshire residents affected by Storm Babet may soon be given the opportunity to comment on the findings of a flood report – if the county council agrees to launch a public consultation.
Derbyshire County Council is already compiling the report into the flooding which will provide a record of events and could also provide recommendations on how future flood risks could be managed.
The report follows Storm Babet, which caused enormous damage to the county’s bridges, roads and culverts,
During the storm, between October 18 to 21, in 2023, around 1,600 properties were flooded in Derbyshire which led to the council – which is the area’s lead flood authority – undertaking an investigation into the emergency and into the responses from all the relevant authorities.
Cllr Charlotte Cupit, Cabinet Member for Highways Assets and Transport, said: “The rain that fell in Storm Babet was unprecedented and led to flooding for many of our residents and business owners. We know what a tough time it has been for them.
“It is our duty to carry out a report into the flooding, so we can be clear about what happened and what the effect on the county was.
“This report is full of detail, and sets out some recommendations to help those parts of the county that flooded, either from surface water, or from river flooding.”
The Flooding Investigation Report looks at post-event response and recovery and the council stated a huge amount of work has been undertaken since Storm Babet and a multi-agency response worked well after hundreds of properties were affected not only by Storm Babet but also by Storm Henk in January, 2024.
Authorities including the Environment Agency, water companies, districts and borough councils have all contributed to the report as flood risk management authorities and the county council’s Flood Risk Management team and the Environment Agency have carried out dozens of site visits to understand who was affected and the causes of the flooding.
Derbyshire County Council stated the delivery of the recommendations and works will be reliant on a continued multi-agency approach to flood risk management and by securing funding to undertake any future flood mitigation works.
A council spokesperson stated: ” Storms like Babet will unfortunately become more frequent and alongside all the work agencies undertake it is also important to try and improve the resilience of communities who have been affected.”
The report sets out 35 affected communities with an analysis of the rainfall and the impact this had upon rivers to understand the scale of Storm Babet because the rain and the impact upon the peak river levels was unprecedented with a significant proportion of the rivers reaching record levels.
A council spokesperson added that increasing the capacity, resources and funding, not only for the county council but for other agencies too, is critical if recommendations are to be realised to ensure Derbyshire is fully prepared and is able to recover more quickly with a reduced impact to properties and lives.
The Cabinet is due to decide at a meeting on September 18 whether to approve the launch of the 12-week public consultation into the findings of the Flooding Investigation Report to gather feedback from residents and businesses with a final document expected to be ready by early 2025.
Cllr Cupit added: “Working with our partners we will do all we can to try and prevent future flooding, as with our climate changing we can be sure that we will face similar circumstances again.
“Once we launch our consultation on this report and its findings I’d hope that as many people as possible will take part, as it is important that we seek the views of all those involved.”
Derbyshire County Council stressed the report is not intended to provide options and actions to reduce flood risk for all those who were affected, but it will give recommendations as to how future flood risk in Derbyshire could be managed.
The council previously revealed flood prevention measures protected 7,000 properties from flooding but said that some communities were completely isolated for days, with some areas of Chesterfield seeing three to four feet of floodwater surge into their homes.
Derbyshire Constabulary also confirmed that Maureen Gilbert, aged 83, died at her home on Tapton Terrace, Chesterfield, Derbyshire, on October 21, 2023, after her neighbourhood had been flooded during Storm Babet.
The Met Office also stated that Storm Babet caused widespread damage and flooding across the UK and that at least seven people were reported to have died.