Emergency plans created as more money offered for flood resilience
Devon Communities Together is aiming to help areas better cope with things like flooding, or problems with utilities
Work is being speeded-up to create local 'emergency plans' for towns and villages across Devon - following the recent floods and gas supply problems in the South Hams.
Grants are also being offered by the county council to help with flood resilience and buying things like new sandbags and warning signs.
The Devon Community Resilience Forum aims to 'help communities to develop emergency plans', and offer 'support for small scale works and resilience equipment, which is usually intended for those communities with an emergency plan already in place'.
A spokesperson added: "In response to the recent flood events and to support community flood resilience, the grant of up to £1,500 for small scale works and equipment is being made available until the end of March 2026 for those communities that are still in the process of developing their plan or do not yet have one."
So far more than 80 properties have been confirmed flooded across over 30 locations after three named storms so far this year - with numbers still expected to rise as further reports come in.
In just one day Devon County Council received more than 200 calls reporting issues on the roads – and responded by mobilising hundreds of highways engineers across the county.
There is currently a backlog of nearly 2,900 pothole repairs, all linked to the recent storms, and that number continues to rise. Additional resources have been drafted in and there are around 50 teams working to repair potholes and highway damage, which have increased dramatically because of the recent weather. Some of this work will continue over the weekend.
An additional 1,600 reports of road damage are awaiting assessment, with inspectors handling an average of 620 public reports per day, totalling around 2,500.
In just one day Devon County Council received more than 200 calls Flood risk management teams are also gathering information from affected communities and is urging residents to report
For more information about the grants visit the Devon Communities Together website or contact [email protected]