In July Flash Flooding came to Wanstead as a months worth of rainfall arrived in just a few hours. Many homes in the Hermon Hill area were flooded out with hughe damage to basement flats.
Climate change is very real and we must do all we can to tackle this issue. While there are man things we can do, we are asking for three key things:
1) To restore front gardens and prevent them being concreted over. The biodiversity of our front gardens has been eroded over the years as more and more people have paved over them. The effect is that, when it rains the water has only one place to go – the road. Drains become overloaded and the area floods.
2) Keep street drains clean: Keeping the drains clear of debris wont solve climate change, but it will lessen the impacts of extreme rainfall. We have asked the Council to step up its action here and ensure all street drains can be kept clean
3) Ensure better river and riverbank conservation: Fast flowing rivers and poorly maintained flood plains will help slow flood waters and aid bio-diversity. Without it the effects of the rainfall we saw in July will only get worse.