Agenda and minutes

Purpose: To undertake a review into the effects of severe weather that affected West Berkshire during the winter of 2013/2014 and the response provided by external agencies.

Councillor Brain Bedwell welcomed the Commission and speakers to the review. He reminded attendees that the review sought to establish the effects of the severe weather experienced between December 2013 and March 2014 and then shape recommendations that would influence future responses. The Commission would not look to place blame on Agencies Council Services or Communities.

The review would give agencies the opportunities to discuss their emergency preparedness and the response provided as well as give their version on interagency working, mutual aid, business continuity management and the recovery and the lessons they had learnt.

Thames Valley Police (TVP)

Lindsey Finch (Interim Superintendent) Newbury Police Station provided the response on behalf of Thames Valley Police, she advised that she was the Deputy area Commander in February 2014.

Thames Valley Police received notification that West Berkshire Council had declared a Major Incident (MI) on Friday 7^th February 2014. TVP representatives were then committed to the WBC EOC as the point of contact with TVP and to filter information within the organisation where appropriate.

The Gold Commander at TVP HeadQuarters was made aware of the WBC MI declaration and although initial assessments concluded that TVP would not be required to do the same, TVP later declared a MI on Sunday 9^th February 2014. Following the declaration a multiagency Strategic Coordinating Group (SCG) was established at Kidlington.

A full command and control structure was established, comprising of a multiagency Strategic Coordinating Group at Kidlington and a Tactical Coordinating Group (TCG) at West Berkshire Council Office, Newbury meeting the identified need to create a localised tactical command.

Lindsey Finch was the Silver Commander at the point of establishing the TCG, which was responsible for coordinating the multiagency response at a localised level, liaising with the TCG established in RB&WM and the SCG in Kidlington for joint management of resources and identification of priorities.

The TCG remained in operation for two weeks and coordinated:

·         Resources to manage extensive road closures: in the most extreme circumstances road closures were out in place to avoid loss of life, they also limited the effects of bow waves which flooded nearby properties.

·         Reassurance within communities: cascading messages within communities and helping residents to relocate household goods from the ground floor.

·         Communications: selecting the media channels to be used to cascade messages and leaflet drops within communities.

In response to questions asked by the Commission, Lindsey Finch provided the following information regarding road closures in West Berkshire:

·         There were multiple instances of drivers contravening formal road closures, placing themselves at risk and on occasion requiring rescue by RBFRS or TVP.

·         Road closures were put in place to avoid drivers exacerbating the flood effects to nearby homes. Bow waves caused significant problems for homes adjacent to flooded roads.

·         Prioritising the allocation of resources to oversee certain road closures was sometimes challenging. Consideration was given to the risk associated with drivers breaching  the closure  and the effect of bow waves. Roads that were particularly affected were:

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