Flood Risk in Leighton Buzzard

Your home might be further devalued and potentially uninsurable? Dont be fooled by this tiny stream Clipstone Brook. It becomes a raging torrent we have seen it! Have a look at the banner above - these photos were taken in Hydrus Drive.

So if you live in these streets then you need to read on!

• Hydrus Drive
• Phoenix Close
• Columba Drive
• North Star Drive
• Carina Drive

• More than 500 homes in Leighton Buzzard are recognised by the Environment Agency (EA) as being at risk of flooding from Clipstone Brook.
• This risk is real and actual flooding of some homes in South Street and Carina Drive (Planets Estate on the eastern edge of the town) has occurred within the last five years.
• The risk assessment in 2001 by the Environment Agency states that there is a one in seven year risk that flooding will occur.
• The Environment Agency website clearly identifies the area at risk and the EA database is in the public domain and available to the Insurance industry.
• Proposals for the construction of a flood alleviation scheme (a small dam) in the fields to the east of the Town were drawn up in 2001 and exhibited in the library.
• Unfortunately the landowners impacted by that scheme objected to the proposals and they could not be progressed (of course, funding may not have been available even if agreement could have been reached)
• These same landowners are now being courted by the Eastern Leighton Linslade Partnership (ELLP) who is proposing to build 6000 homes covering (amongst many other green fields and woodlands) the entire Clipstone Brook valley to the east of the Town and as far as Shenley Hill Road in its initial phases.
• The ELLP proposal includes flood water storage provision of 100,000 cubic meters of water storage. This is supposed to comfort those at risk, but merely underlines the extent of the risk and the inherent unsuitability of this flood plain to the east of Leighton Buzzard for new development.
• The EA proposals were revised in May 2006, and a new construction site was proposed as the preferred option to the east of the hamlet of Clipstone. This compliments the ELLP build proposals, but of course there is no funding agreed for the flood alleviation scheme
• The LB Observer headlines on 15 January 2007 Flood Prevention Scheme Shelved They could have added the word again as build commencement milestones were initially set at the year 2002, and have been regularly moved every time an update has been sought from the Environment Agency.

If you live in one of the areas listed above you could be in the flood risk area. Building thousands of homes in the rain catchment area for Clipstone Brook is outrageous and to the detriment of at least 500 existing homeowners and hundreds more who will live in more probably uninsurable homes that ELLP wants to build in the East of Leighton Buzzard.