Flooding

We’ve put together some information and advice regarding flooding.

If there is an immediate risk to life, please call the emergency services on 999.

Be prepared

If you live in areas prone to flooding or believe flooding is possible, it helps to be prepared. Sign up to the Environment Agency flood alerts.

These alerts will notify you about possible flooding in the area. There are three levels:

Flood alert
Flood warning
Severe flood warning

The Environment Agency also has more information about prepared for flooding

Sandbags

We only have a limited amount of sandbags and they will only be issued to:

protect life, critical infrastructure and buildings, eg hospitals and substations
protect elderly, disabled and vulnerable residents
support the emergency services

We will not issue them to protect gardens and outbuildings and we do not have a statutory duty to provide residents with sandbags.

Please bear in mind that sandbags only provide limited protection against flooding and are most effective before flooding takes place.

It is also difficult to transport them when floods occur if roads are closed and we also only have a limited number of vehicles to transport them.

If you believe your property is at imminent risk of being flooded and want to request sandbags, please call 01509 263151 (Monday to Thursday 8.30am to 5pm, Friday 8.30am to 4.30pm) or 01509 634567 (out on hours).

Report a flood

Depending on what has caused the flood you will need to contact different organisations. More information is available on the Leicestershire County Council website. The county council is the Lead Local Flood Authority.

Travel

Check before you travel – find live travel updates online, by listening to local radio or by following Area Traffic Control on Twitter

Do not to drive through flood water

Charnwood Borough Council’s responsibilities

We have a responsibility to ensure watercourses on our land are flowing freely. We have a maintenance schedule to ensure that happens. Leicestershire County Council is responsible for most clearing of gullies and brooks and landowners also have a duty to ensure watercourses are flowing freely. If you wish to report an issue, please visit the Leicestershire County Council website

If a flood occurs

If a flood occurs, Charnwood Borough Council can help with various issues.

Housing needs

If you need assistance with your housing situation, please contact our housing needs team on 01509 634567 or 0333 200 8811 or email housing@charnwood.gov.uk.

Refuse and recycling

If you have any issues with the refuse and recycling service, please report them via the website www.charnwood.gov.uk/recycling or call 01509 634563 or email cleaner.greener@charnwood.gov.uk

Council tax

To discuss any council tax issues, please call 03456 091258, visit www.charnwood.gov.uk/counciltax or email council.tax@charnwood.gov.uk

Council alerts

To stay in touch with Charnwood Borough Council news, including disruptions to services, sign up to our email alerts, visit www.charnwood.gov.uk/alerts