£38,000 of grants given to two projects by West Sussex County Council’s Operation Watershed scheme

The scheme was set up to help communities work with the council to prepare for – or reduce the risk of – flooding.

On Monday (November 13), Deborah Urquhart, cabinet member for environment & climate change, gave the nod to two projects totalling £38,186.86.

The first was from Findon Parish Council, which was granted £24,368.40 for work to reduce the risk of serious flooding at The Quadrangle, Findon Valley.

A statement submitted with the application said: “Residents in The Quadrangle area of Findon Village have long been subjected to regular and heavy flooding running off the A24 following the increasingly stormy weather being attributed to climate change.

“This will only get worse if nothing is done. A

“prime example of this was the flooding that took place on 23 December 2022, even though the jetting of the gullies had taken place earlier that month.

“Residents have experienced flooding as a result and the impact of this must not be underestimated.

“Indeed, some residents have had to physically sweep water away to protect their properties.”

The second was from Tangmere Parish Council which was granted £13,818.46 for the replacement of a degraded surface water drain on Tangmere Road, Tangmere Village.

The work will see 66m of pipework replaced in a concrete bed and surround to protect it from roots.

Operation Watershed was launched following horrendous flooding across the county in 2012/13.

In the years since, it has funded more than 400 projects to the tune of more than £4m, working with nearly 150 groups.

It was allocated £600,000 from the council’s budget in 2023/24, with a further £2.009million lined up for the years up to 2027/28, including money carried forward from previous years.

To find out how to apply for funding, log on to the council’s website.

Applications much meet a number of criteria, including:

• Tackling a recognised surface or ground water flood risk
Meeting at least one of the following elements in its technical scope:
• provide new infrastructure installations or build
• make material change improvements to existing infrastructure
• increase the drainage capacity of existing infrastructure
• the provision of assets for community groups’ usage to protect their local area.

All applications need the support from your local elected county councillor.