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Photo story: September 2024 floods

During September 2024 Bedfordshire found itself making headlines following heavy rainfall and flooding.

During the month, Woburn experienced more rain than its expected autumn average and had its wettest month on record since 1940. The closure of the A421 as it filled with an estimated 60 million litres of water provided dramatic pictures for the news and continues to cause problems for drivers.

The flooded A421.

A number of the Local Action Groups we work with have been in touch to share their photos and stories.

 

No to Greenwoods

The group coordinated and assisted with objections to the planning application for a new town of 4,000 houses between Barton, Silsoe and Gravenhurst, south of Wrest Park. It was rejected on a number of grounds which included some of the area being designated as flood zone 3, the highest risk level. They told us that in the last four years, the surrounding areas and the site itself has been flooded four times. Roads have been closed, vehicles and properties/businesses damaged.

'The river basin running through the site and on to Shillington is not coping with increased rainfall due to climate change but also the runoff from overdevelopment and inadequate drainage provision at sites further upstream, for example, the huge amount of development that has happened in Silsoe.'
No to Greenwoods
This photo looks west from Shillington towards the Greenwoods site.
This photo is an example of how many roads at the lower level in the village are suffering from the brook being breached.

Save our Village Lower Stondon

The group are working to stop development on Mount Pleasant Golf Course. They shared some photos and captions with us.

Meadowsweet, houses bordering golf course at Mount Pleasant.
'Before the second phase of Meadowsweet was built the original home owners tried hard to get the developers to understand that ‘Meadow’ was the place where water naturally gathered and eventually soaked away. They ignored us and covered the natural soak away with tarmac and concrete.'
Save Our Village Lower Stondon
Flooding in Lower Stondon.

Friends of Windsor Drive (Houghton Regis)

The group is working to preserve much needed green space and recreation facilities in Houghton Regis. They shared pictures of Houghton Brook which runs alongside Windsor Drive Open Space, telling us that this level of water is despite enhanced flood defences only a few metres downstream. “Imagine what the area would look like without Windsor Drive Open Space?!”

Houghton Brook.
High water levels at Houghton Brook

Save Steppingley Road Field (Flitwick Local Action Group)

A Local Action Group campaigning to save the field next to Flitwick Woods / Steppingley Road from development.

They shared photos from the Steppingley Road Culvert and both sides of it.

'Football matches on the old leisure centre football pitches were often called off due to the pitches being waterlogged. Those fields are now concreted and tarmacked over with 450 houses at Steppingley Gardens, the new leisure centre and the new retirement village. With all this “soakaway” land having gone, local businesses flooded in the recent rains. How much worse will it become if they concrete over Steppingley Road field?'
Save Steppingley Road Field
Leisure centre side of the culvert.
Water lying in a yard on Windmill Road.

 

The A421 - September 2024.

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