Published 25 October 2022
Last updated 24 November 2022 + show all updates

• Maidstone is at risk of flooding, so join us to learn how best to prepare, act and survive
• Activities for all the family, including virtual reality flood games for children to learn too
• A special flood tank installation will reveal some of the creepier hazards concealed in murky flood water
• Free entry

This half-term why not come along to the Maidstone Museum to find out what you need to do in the event of a flood? Open from 10am to 4pm on Monday 24 to Saturday 29 October, it’s free to enter.

There will be information on display all week. While members of the Environment Agency’s Flood Resilience Team will be there on Monday 24, Friday 28 and Saturday 29 October with even more activities.

Maidstone is at risk of flooding from the river Medway and many local residents will remember recent major floods in Maidstone in 2013 and in 2000. Flooding can happen at any time and with today’s climate emergency. There are ever increasing risks of extreme weather that could lead to life-threatening floods affecting properties and infrastructure.

The team will be on hand to offer advice to help people to prepare, act and survive at times of flooding. Important information will be available on how people can protect themselves and their homes from the devastating effects of flooding.

Fun for the all the family!

During the week there will be information shared, as well as fun activities for families and children of all ages.

There will be a chance to join in virtual reality flood experiences. ‘Help Callum’ and ‘Help Sali’ where you can immerse yourself in a flooding scenario that can be seen from a child’s perspective.

A special flood tank installation will reveal some of the creepier hazards concealed in murky flood water.

Emma Crofts, Environment Agency, Flood Resilience Advisor, said:

Flooding is devastating and affects people’s lives. During half-term week at Maidstone Museum we hope to meet lots of people. We will also be able to provide advice on how best to prepare, act and survive in the event of a flood.

Our aim is to help people understand how flooding happens and what the impacts can be. We can show them how easy it is to sign up for flood alerts and flood warnings, for themselves, friends and family. We’ll also explain how to make a flood plan and the actions to take before, during and after a flood.

There’ll be activity for all the family, so please come along and see us during the week!

For additional information email: FloodResilienceKSLES@environment-agency.gov.uk

Follow the Flood Resilience team on Twitter @FloodAwareKSLES

In 2013, 41 properties including businesses were reported as flooding in Maidstone town centre. In addition, a number of residents in flats reported access issues due to ground floor entrances being flooded.

Between September and November 2000, up to 20 properties were reported as flooding in the town centre, including businesses.

A new United Kingdom-wide guide outlining how our forests and woodlands can reduce the damaging effects and financial impact of flooding on vulnerable communities has been published today (Tuesday 25 October) by the Forestry Commission, Natural Resources Wales, Scottish Forestry and Northern Ireland Forest Service.

Woodlands can play a key role in flood mitigation and make an important contribution to reducing downstream flood risk. Tree planting can significantly affect the volume, pathway and timing of surface run-off, slowing and reducing flood peaks, while management operations such as cultivation, drainage, road construction and harvesting can have the opposite effect if not appropriately managed.

Produced by Forest Research, the new Practice Guide provides advice to landowners, forest and woodland managers, planners, practitioners and flooding authorities on how forests and woodlands can make a positive contribution to natural flood management and play a stronger role in flood mitigation.

Advice includes:

• How to identify whether downstream communities are vulnerable to flooding and if so, modify the design of the woodland to enhance the flood benefit.
• How to amend the scale, timing and type of woodland operations to minimise the impact of flood risk and flood run-off.
• Where and how to use leaky dams to slow flood flows.

Applying this guidance will assist land managers and forestry practitioners in meeting the requirements of the UK Forestry Standard (UKFS) and will help deliver a more sustainable and integrated approach to managing flood risk – reducing the damaging effects and financial impacts of future floods on downstream communities.

Richard Stanford, Forestry Commission Chief Executive, said:

Our woodlands and forests play a key role in reducing the peaks in water flow. This helps to protect communities across the UK vulnerable to flooding from their devastating impacts.

This new Practice Guide will enable the forestry sector to harness the benefits of tree growing to reduce the risk of flooding, while ensuring that management operations do not increase peak flows. It will promote working with natural processes to deliver a more sustainable, catchment-based approach to managing flood risk to benefit communities across the UK.

Dominic Driver, Natural Resources Wales’ Head of Land Stewardship, said:

Helping to prevent flooding is one of the many benefits of planting trees and creating new woodlands, but we also recognise that inappropriate forest management can risk environmental harm and reduce the well-being benefits that we derive from water.

The UK Forestry Standard helps us ensure sustainable forest management in Wales, and this practice guide will help contribute to that. We will now be integrating this practice guide to our work in managing and regulating forestry activities.

A wide range of organisations are responsible for managing flood risk across the United Kingdom and rely on partnership working to help protect affected communities and assets from flooding. Implementing the guidance as described will enable foresters to meet UKFS requirements and guidelines, and in so doing, make a positive contribution to reducing flood flows and the damaging effects of flooding.

By playing a stronger role in flood mitigation, it will also help the forest sector increase the resilience of downstream communities likely to be impacted by more frequent flooding due to climate change.

The new UKFS Practice Guide can be downloaded free of charge from the Forest Research website. Printed copies will also be available to order shortly.

Prime Minister Liz Truss’s statement on leaving Downing Street

It has been a huge honour to be Prime Minister of this great country.

In particular, to lead the nation in mourning the death of Her Late Majesty The Queen after 70 years of service,

and welcoming the accession of His Majesty King Charles III.

In just a short period, this government has acted urgently and decisively on the side of hardworking families and businesses.

We reversed the National Insurance increase.

We helped millions of households with their energy bills and helped thousands of businesses avoid bankruptcy.

We are taking back our energy independence…

…so we are never again beholden to global market fluctuations or malign foreign powers.

From my time as Prime Minister, I am more convinced than ever we need to be bold and confront the challenges that we face.

As the Roman philosopher Seneca wrote: “It is not because things are difficult that we do not dare. It is because we do not dare that they are difficult.”

We simply cannot afford to be a low growth country where the government takes up an increasing share of our national wealth…

and where there are huge divides between different parts of our country.

We need to take advantage of our Brexit freedoms to do things differently.

This means delivering more freedom for our own citizens and restoring power in democratic institutions.

It means lower taxes, so people keep more of the money they earn.

It means delivering growth that will lead to more job security, higher wages and greater opportunities for our children and grandchildren.

Democracies must be able to deliver for their own people…

We must be able to outcompete autocratic regimes, where power lies in the hands of a few.

And now more than ever we must support Ukraine in their brave fight against Putin’s aggression.

Ukraine must prevail.

And we must continue to strengthen our nation’s defences.

That is what I have been striving to achieve… and I wish Rishi Sunak every success, for the good of our country.

I want to thank Hugh, Frances, Liberty, my family and friends, and all the team at No10 for their love, friendship and support.

I also want to thank my protection team.

I look forward to spending more time in my constituency, and continuing to serve South West Norfolk from the backbenches.

Our country continues to battle through a storm.

But I believe in Britain.

I believe in the British people.

And I know that brighter days lie ahead.