History
13th November 2014
Inaugural meeting in Sedgeberrow with interested parishes, Gloucestershire University & Farming & Wildlife Advisory Service.
9th March 2015
ICG launch meeting with engagement with over 30 attendees from a wide range of agencies including; The Environment Agency, Worcestershire County Council, Gloucestershire County Council, Tewkesbury Borough Council, Winchcombe Town Council, Dumbleton Parish Council, Representative of L Robertson MP, Cabinet Member for Highways & Flood, Gloucestershire Rural Community Council, Cotswold Conservation Board, National Flood Forum, Worcestershire Archive & Archaeology Service, Severn & Avon Flood Group and the Isbourne Industrial Estate. There was widespread support for our catchment based approach and several agencies indicated funding for specific projects could be made available.
22nd June 2015
The formal ICG Constitution was agreed and signed by 7 members representing parishes in Cleeve, Winchcombe & Sedgeberrow.
26th May 2015
Presentation at Tewkesbury Borough Council Flood Risk Management Meeting.
30th July 2015
Gloucestershire University agree to self-fund £5,000 to kick start the ICG phase 1 study.
September 2015
Worcestershire County Council pledge £1k plus further funds at later date, Winchcombe Town Council pledge £500, Sedgeberow Parish Council pledge £1,000 and Hinton on the Green pledge £500.
9th October 2015
Gloucestershire University start work on more detailed proposals and outcomes for the phase one project and allocate a group of students to work with ICG on a communications strategy and membership campaign.
December 2015
Tewkesbury Borough Council has agreed to act as the accountable body and provide financial and audit oversight. They have appointed a nominee and bank account details for the group’s funds and pledges.
January 2016
In 9 months the group has raised its initial target of &20,000 to undertake a full hydrological study of the catchment, so we are very grateful to all our funders. Other bodies have offered funding subject to caveats and it is hoped to role forward these commitments, when we have a clear understanding of any potential works needed.Name of bodySum offeredUniversity of Gloucestershire£5,000Worcestershire County Council£1,000Sedgeberrow Parish Council£1,000Hinton Parish Council£250Toddington Parish Council£250Environment Agency – Flood & Coastal Committee£10,000Liz Eyre – Worcestershire County Councillor£2,500Wychavon District Council£1,000D Raphael – private donation£50Dumbleton Parish Council£250Total to date subject to proviso’s/business case£21,300This success has meant that the group has met its first objective to secure tangible commitment from local authorities at county, district, town and parish level, as well as from the statutory bodies.
February 2016
The CCRI at University of Gloucestershire are making good progress with an initial study to establish all known data, before plugging any gaps, looking at best practice and making suggestions for the way forward, crucially with local landowners.The types of intervention anticipated include holding back the water in key areas but speeding it up in others in order to achieved a balanced flow. All practices have been demonstrated successfully elsewhere e.g. Vale of Pickering and Stroud Valleys and have contributed to reducing the flood risk in these areas. This study will inform a proper, evidence-based catchment plan for discussion with all stakeholders and will enable the Group to approach key landowners with properly justified, specific proposals for implementation on their land.
August 2016
The Isbourne Catchment Group has been working closely with Gloucestershire University over the summer to ensure our report remains on track. This work is near to completition and we already have the meeting date in the diary for early October to review the final details. This meeting will be in conjunction with the Environment Agency as the main funding contributor. Once we have the final report we will be able to look at the key findings and can start talking to all agencies and parishes. Our main task will be to highlight those areas where mitigation measures will have the biggest impact across the catchment and reduce peak flow.
27th October 2016
The Isbourne Catchment Group and the Environment Agency were pleased to receive the final report from the University of Gloucestershire and Countryside & Community Research Institute. We now have a report which identifies the opportunities for natural flood management throughout the catchment. Inevitably the options split into those in the upper reaches of the catchment – notably the fast flowing Langley and Beesmoor Brooks that flow off the Cotswold escarpment and meet at Winchcombe, and those in the lower reaches on the floodplain when it becomes the River Isbourne.
This video clip was made to show how natural flood management can been created. This partnership was between the local community, Stroud District Council, the Environment Agency and Gloucestershire University. We at ICG aim to use a similar approach but with measures designed to be effective for our unique catchment.