4.-Chard-Area-Resilience-Group-Notes-start-up-meeting-3-8th-March-22

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CHARD TOWN COUNCIL
Meeting to discuss key administration required for forming a Chard resilience group
8th March 2022 18.30
The following people were in attendance:
Facilitating &Supporting:
Chard Town Council Officers: Paul Russell, Town Clerk, Beverley Newman DSO.
Somerset Rivers Authority Community Engagement Officers: Emma Giffard, Dawn James.
Participating Residents:
A total of 25 residents from Chard & Cotley areas.
1.

WELCOME, INTRODUCTION AND APOLOGIES
The Town Clerk welcomed everyone in attendance, thanked them for coming and gave an over of the aims and agenda for
the meeting.

2.

Agenda Item 1
Creating a first phase steering group: Presentation & talk followed by Question & Answers
Speaker 1 – Mr David Bell asked attendees to introduce themselves and give a brief reason for their attendance, then
introduced himself to include a summary of his career. He then provided some context on key areas to include;
• Organisation’s responsibility’s, legal parameters and challenges;
• Avon & Somerset Resilience Group being a point of contact for Chard residents. (The geography is dictated by the
Police boundaries).
• Communication challenges such as radio signals not covering the entire town.

Suggested key work streams were presented including:
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Category 1, shutting down roads
Category 2 planning for floods
Additional categories for consideration (which were later agreed)

Suggested that an individual should lead on each of these and that the lead for each group could then form the First Phase
Steering Group. Please see the uploaded presentation for further details.
It was stressed that collaborative working across all agencies, organisations and the Resilience Group was key and that the
first phase steering group would act as an information gathering group to would feed back to the wider Resilience Group.
Attendees were asked if they had an interest in being a part of the First Phase Steering group and if so identify which of the
six suggested areas they had an interest in.
3.

Agenda Item 2
Forming a Response Team: Presentation & talk followed by Question & Answers
Speaker 2 – Mr Jason Hawkes provided information on key requirements of a Response Team including the role &
responsibilities of Flood Wardens, consideration of volunteers needs, the need for a flood plan with suggestions for what this
might include and a suggested structure to show how lines of communication and how this would work in a response
situation.
The need for a mapping exercise to identify vulnerable areas and people to inform the response team was outlined with an
emphasis on the need to provide clear instructions for people as to what information was required and would be useful.
A number of protective measures available were shown and discussed. It was stressed that flood wardens should not live in
areas that were badly affected by floods.

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4.

Comments & discussion points arising from the:
• Availability of, and how to apply for grants
• The need for people to know their flood area and assigned Flood Warden when they had been appointed.
• Finances for the Resilience group – a bank account would be desirable
• Regularity of meetings going forward
• Legality of putting protective measures in the road.

5.

Overall outcomes of meeting:
• 6 key areas of initial work streams agreed.
• 9 attendees have expressed an interest in forming a first phase steering group
• Meeting date of First phase steering group agreed as 16th March 2022, 18.30 at the Guildhall

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