Support for Communities

Cornwall Community Flood Forum (CCFF) is funded by Local Levy, administered by the South West Regional Flood and Coastal Committee (SWRFCC) to provide community resilience support for flooding. We do this by helping communities, often Town and Parish Councils, to prepare Flood Emergency Plans and training volunteers to put these plans into action. Community Flood Groups are individuals who have come together to support their communities as required before, during and after flooding – sometimes working independently and sometimes alongside the emergency services as appropriate.

There are currently 24 communities in Cornwall that have developed a Flood Plan/Group. There are many communities working on their plans at the moment. See them all on the map below!

CCFF can provide the following activities that have been developed alongside our colleagues at Cornwall Council and the Environment Agency to support volunteer flood groups to stay safe and work effectively:

• Flood risk assessment
• Flood/ Emergency Plan development
• Flood Warden Training and recruitment
• Communication
• Funding for Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)
• Testing the Flood Plan in a desktop and ‘live’ environment

CCFF is able, free of charge, to support 5 Cornish communities each year to work through these steps, which are known as the Community Preparedness Cycle. Click on each section of the Cycle below to find resources that will help you work through each of these – or just get in touch if you’d like our support: AmyR@volunteercornwall.org.uk

The Cycle works differently for every community but is always centred on the Community Flood Plan. It is important that this is an action plan – what a volunteer flood group will do if they think flooding might happen – and not just a document sitting on a shelf!

A Community Flood Plan can form an important part of a broader Community Emergency Plan. Communities who do not consider themselves to be particularly at risk from flooding may prefer to complete the Community Emergency Plan only.

Funding for Communities in Cornwall can be available from a variety of different resources. The following document explores some funding hints, tips and guidance to support Community emergency Response Teams and Flood Groups to access funding opportunities and complete funding applications.