Lambourn Parish Council, under the Localism Act 2011, ss.1-8, adopted General Power of Competence in 2024, which permits them to provide the following support to the community concerning the distribution of Sandbags.

Primary Responsibilities

The responsibility for protection of private property in the event of a flood lies with individual owners and not the Parish Council or any other agency. However, the Parish Council does have permissive powers in relation to flood defence (as per General Power of Competence), and may use those powers where appropriate to support local communities in preparing for and dealing with floodwater.

In the event of the risk of flooding being imminent or likely to continue, Lambourn Parish Council will work with the community to provide sandbags and, where needed, coordinate bulk sand deliveries to affected areas where there is an identified need.

Priorities for sandbag and sand delivery allocation

This policy recognises that in a major flooding situation, The Parish Council may not be able to

meet every request for sandbags to support people in protecting their property.

The deployment of sandbags will, therefore be decided with regard to the following priorities:

To prevent loss of life or serious injury

• Maintaining access for emergency services
• Protecting vital facilities within the community
• Protection of residential property occupied by vulnerable people within the Parish
• Enable property owners within the Parish to make arrangements to protect their own property.

Those distributing sandbags will be advised of the above and guided not to provide sandbags for other purposes, e.g., protecting a garden or other non-habitable areas of a property.

Sandbag Distribution

When a flood event is predicted, free empty sandbags will be available for Lambourn Parish resident householders from the Memorial Hall.

This will be at the discretion of Lambourn Parish Council and in accordance with the priorities within this Policy.

As a guide, between six and twelve sandbags are typically sufficient to protect an average household, and distributors will be encouraged to keep to this number in most cases.

Quantities of sand to fill the bags may be made available where the impact of flooding is sufficient to require a bulk delivery.

Where only a single property is likely to be affected by flooding, residents are encouraged to obtain their own sand (in advance if possible) with which to fill the sandbags.

Where a bulk delivery of sand is deemed necessary, the location of the delivery will be advised thought the Parish Council website and through other local organisations and social media platforms.

Those locations will be decided in consultation with the local Flood Wardens and the Parish Council will coordinate to accommodate identified local needs in accordance with priorities in this Policy.

Sandbag Disposal

After a sandbag has been used, the householder will be advised to dispose of the sand on their garden and dispose of the bag in their general waste bin.

It is the resident’s responsibility to dispose of sandbags once the flooding event is over. This must be done considering that viral and bacterial infections may be present in flood water due to mixing with foul sewage.

Businesses

Businesses will be supported by the provision of sandbags. However, a nominal fee will apply relative to the current procurement cost of the bags and sand as at the time of the request.

Requests for Sandbags

A request for sandbags or sand may be submitted via the Parish Council offices at the Memorial Hall, by contacting your local Parish Councillor (see Appendix A Below), or by contacting your local Flood Warden.

Residents are encouraged to ensure they have the contact details shown in Appendix A below to hand before any risk of flooding occurs.

Document Control
Document owner: Lambourn Parish Council
Version number: V3.0
Approval Date: 08 January 2025
Approved By: Full Council
Review cycle: Annual
Date of next review: 2026

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Appendix A

Parish Councillors

Lambourn