Flooding in Yate forced families out of their homes for months
South Gloucestershire Council has published an investigation into extreme rainfall last autumn
Severe flooding in Yate last autumn forced families out of their homes for several months including over Christmas.
The railway running south of the town flooded with a torrent of water flowing off an embankment, overwhelming drains and entering into nearby houses.
Last November, Storm Bert brought “intense and sustained” rain to South Gloucestershire, with widespread floods. These heavy storms are due to become more frequent and intense due to climate change, according to the Met Office, meaning that the district is likely to flood again.
Because of the severity of the floods, South Gloucestershire Council investigated what exactly happened and how to prevent similar problems. That investigation was published ahead of a cabinet meeting on Monday, July 14, when councillors praised the community response.
Liberal Democrat Councillor Louise Harris, cabinet member for climate, said: “We had huge support from the community and from the local pub. It was a horrendous incident but the community did really pull together. Network Rail have obviously got a lot in here relating to them and are carrying out work at the moment. That emergency work is already happening.”
She added the local vicar helped set up an emergency relief fund, which received a lot of donations for residents whose homes were damaged. And the lessons learned from the council’s response to the floods led to a change in approach to the gas explosion in April on Lancaster Road in Yate, which also saw a huge amount of support from the local community.
Liberal Democrat Cllr Chris Willmore, cabinet member for planning, added: “One of the lessons we learned is just how overwhelmingly generous the community is, and how we have to build that into our planning for these crises, so that they’re able to do something to help. If there are any lessons you think we could learn from these processes, it’s important you keep telling us.”
One affected resident, David Butcher, said his young family was forced to live away from their home for five months including over Christmas. In a written statement to the cabinet, he criticised the investigation for glossing over the impact on people whose homes were damaged.
He said: “While I am pleased to see a report which has many forward-thinking suggestions and proposals, I feel the huge personal impacts throughout the past six months — both financial and emotional — have been completely bypassed within the report. My home was significantly damaged, with flooding through the entirety of the ground floor.”
He added his home insurance costs have since increased, he had to pay £1,000 in excesses for an insurance claim, and an upcoming remortgage will leave him out of pocket too. The value of his house has gone down, while selling the property has proved “very difficult” due to the floods.
Another resident, Nicola Blaken, added: “Back in November 2024 my house was flooded and my young family were forced to relocate for six months while repairs works were carried out. Are there any reassurances from Network Rail that their prevention works will be finished to cope with this possibility? Is there any evidence to show that these works will help prevent future flooding?”
During the storm, 34 homes were flooded in streets such as Slimbridge Close and Littledean in Yate. Water flowed down from the railway, which runs along a cutting south of the town, and into residential roads. A mile and half east of the affected houses, the railway runs through the Chipping Sodbury which frequently floods.
This causes the main line to close several times a year. But last autumn was wetter than normal, so the rain was falling on already saturated ground. And 60 per cent of the rain that fell in November came in just one weekend, overwhelming drains.
The railway’s gradient falls from east to west, so water flowed down the track which acted as a channel. Network Rail have been carrying out extensive work on this section of the railway, in an attempt to prevent similar floods happening again in future. Drainage channels were inspected and cleared, and one of four pumps that removes water from the railway has been replaced.
However, the recommended actions for the council are just “business as usual”, warned Conservative Cllr Nic Labuschagne. Speaking at the scrutiny commission on Wednesday, July 9, he said they don’t go far enough, and called for wider action to prevent future floods.
He added: “The recommendations don’t seem to be going far enough or are really in any way ambitious. It’s an insufficient response to the scale of Storm Bert. This fails to address the clear evidence that the systems were overwhelmed.”
Another flaw was the council’s visibility after the storm. While staff were praised during the night for helping residents, one criticism in the investigation was a lack of communication following the floods. This was hampered by the council not having contact details for affected residents.
Cllr Harris, who was staying in a hotel in Sussex on the night, said local reporters highlighted negative views of the response. She said: “The cynical bit of me would say the press always likes to say something negative, don’t they? If I had been at home, it was literally three minutes from my front door, and I would have been heavily involved in it.
“There are lessons to learn, there always are. But the council and the community pulled together amazingly to deal with a horrendous situation. We know there are some people who weren’t happy about everything — but the press always likes picking up on that, unfortunately.”
Council staff knocked on over 200 doors on the night, and on following days, to see what support was needed. An evacuation centre was prepared at Yate Leisure Centre but this ultimately wasn’t used as people stayed with friends and families. Letters sent after the floods warned of rogue traders who sometimes target people needing home repairs after extreme weather.
Surface water flooding, like that which happened in Yate, is a much bigger threat to homes in South Gloucestershire than floods from rivers or the sea. According to figures from the Environment Agency, 4,633 homes in the district are at high risk of surface water flooding, with 4,207 at medium risk and 13,311 at low risk. A further 5,783 are at risk of river or sea flooding.
Flood maps allow people to check if their home is in a risk area. These show a higher chance of flooding along the railway cutting in Yate, as well as other parts of South Gloucestershire. Households at risk are advised to prepare a flood plan with emergency contact numbers and evacuation routes, and protect properties with door barriers and air brick covers.
Other advice includes making a grab bag with essentials like medication, a torch, phone charger, bottled water and snacks; and knowing how to turn off gas, electricity and water supplies.