Brampton residents calling for flooding support for the 2025/26 budget
The County Council's budget has been decided, but there's no indication of flooding support spending
Residents in a flood-hit Cambridgeshire village are still calling on local authorities to help them find a long term fix.
Last year, people in Brampton called on Cambridgeshire County Council and other authorities to step in after parts of the village were hit by flooding three times.
In its budget for 2025-26, the Council has shared details of investing in areas such as social care, but it's unclear what it's spending on flood prevention.
Chip Colquhoun lives in Brampton, and is a flooding campaigner.
"Developing and then building an effective counter measure to the surface water coming from the A14 balancing ponds, you know, these are structural flaws that it's hard to see will be resolved purely by us residents having £1800 worth of equipment."
"We have residents here in Brampton, and the surrounding villages, including myself, who are keen to protect our homes from flooding.
"So keen that we're more than happy to volunteer our time to put flood prevention measures in place."
There's frustrations about the response from authorities surrounding the issue, and Chip believes better plans for the budget could be in place.
"Investment needs to go into people really. Maybe even on a temporary contract, or something, who can focus solely on pulling together all the necessary information into a single location. So that council officers don't have to take weeks to find answers, but can find it at the touch of a button."
Where is the budget being allocated?
Cambridgeshire County Council has approved its budget for 2025/26, with a 4.99% Council Tax increase and investment in road maintenance, social care, and new schools. The council faced a £35.1 million budget shortfall, with 73% of its net spending now funded through Council Tax.
More than £56 million has been allocated to highways maintenance, including road and pavement repairs, drainage improvements, and upgrades to traffic lights and safety barriers. Council Leader Cllr Lucy Nethsingha said: “We have listened to residents, which is why we are investing more than £56 million in highways maintenance.” The council stated that previous underinvestment had contributed to a £600 million backlog in required repairs.
Children’s services will receive an additional £9 million for children who become looked after, £4.7 million for home-to-school transport, and £920,000 to expand special educational needs (SEND) services. Adult social care funding includes £3 million to help care providers manage rising costs and an £8 million increase to cover a 5% rise in the Real Living Wage.
You can read more on the budget allocation here.