Flood Investigation Report: May 2026
Section 19 Flood Investigation Report for your village has now been published.
The updated report is available to view on Suffolk County Council’s website here: Flood investigation reports – Suffolk County Council. Please note that the six-month update has been incorporated into the original report, which has been updated accordingly.
The after effects of Storm Babet, where at least five houses in the village were flooded, resulted in the creation of the Occold Flood Group . The Flood Group consists of Mid-Suffolk Councillor Lucy Elkin, Angela Hall and Andrew Duggett from the Parish Council, and volunteers whose homes were affected by the storm. The group is meeting monthly and is liaising closely with Andrew Stringer, County Councillor, and Suffolk Highways to determine what mitigating action can be taken to manage flooding and water volumes. The Parish Council now has some warning flooded road signs which can be deployed as required after consultation with support from the SCC emergency teams.
Note:- Occold Parish Council do not endorse the insurance company GoCompare.com but they have some useful pages on their website concerning flooding and what you may be able to do to protect your property.
https://www.gocompare.com/home-insurance/guide/flood-damage-repair-and-prevention/
Update 05/05/2026
The S19 report on the flooding in Occold from Storm Babet has been published by Suffolk County Council and a copy is available here. The OFWG is meeting to discuss next steps but has already engaged with SCC and completed the requested 6 month update report, has researched the Highways the gully cleaning programme, and has approached Ed King from the River Waveney Trust about how we can start the Natural Flood Management conversation with key landowners. A fairly simplistic summary of the report would say that if conditions similar to those that preceded Storm Babet are followed by another Babet then the village will flood again without ongoing ditch maintenance and the longer term introduction of NFM. Part of this is due to the topograp[hy of the area and the soil types, neither of which can be influenced.
11/10/2025
The OFWG supported by a couple of erstwhile volunteers did the annual walk through of the ditches and culverts in Church St in an effort to identify any issues with the surface drainage. All of the accessible piped ditches were rodded to identify blockages and vegitation was cleared from the ditch in front of the Church burial ground. The drain at the end of the ditch in front of Cedars Rise was also cleared. This is a known pinch point at what is one of the lowest points in the centre of the village.
05/10/2025
As several properties flooded during Storm Babet, Occold was listed on the Suffolk County Council Section 19 report for an evaluation as to how flood water could be better managed with the hope of avoiding similar issues in the future. The OFWG worked hard to collate supportive information and photographs showing floodwater to meet the report deadline which had been granted an extension after District Councillor Lucy Elkin had petitioned the Council. The final SCC report on Occold is yet to be published but thanks have been received as our submission provided new information otherwise unknown to the Section 19 lead.
07/04/2025
The Flood Response Plan has finished the final draft has been published to the Parish Council and key players in the village who need to be advised of events or have pledged to provide some active support if the plan has to be initiated. The road Flood warning signs have been received and are ready to be deployed as nessary. A further summary will be available here soon.
03/03/2025
Occold now has a viable flood plan that we can use to help manage the impact of a flooding event. As a small village we are limited by the physical resources available to us. To mitigate this this we will continue to publicise what households can do for themselves, both in the physical sense of protection against water getting into their property and what to do if that unfortunately occurs.
Our plans have been made in the light of happened during Storm Babet. Occold is not on a flood plain. The Environment Agency considers any flood risk as low. It is far more likely that water from heavy and persistent rain will be the issue as it may cause extra run-off from fields and also overwhelm the road drainage. Please familiarise yourselves with official guidance, much of which can be found at the links below (paragraph dated 30/10/2024).
Further guidance is also available through the Blue Pages which offers lots of advice about property protection.
If you are struggling with understanding the guidance then email editor@occold.com who may be able to signpost you to the right place. .
10/11/2024
The drainage system in Occold has been significantly altered over the years by house building and changes in land use. Ponds have been filled in, ditches have been piped or filled in too. Understanding where the rainwater does drain to has been a challenging topic and the working group is close to having a definitive map which will be useful with highlighting pinch points.
On Saturday morning, 8th November, members of the working group helped by some village residents visited properties along Church Street to understand the direction the rainwater travels, it is not always obvious, and what condition the drainage pipes and ditches that run along the property boundaries were in. It was an interesting morning and essentially we discovered that pipes and ditches were in a good shape. There is a significant pinch point where the ditch in front of Cedars Rise empties into a drain culvert adjacent to Cedar Cottage, which was a property which suffered during Storm Babet.
All of this adds to our knowledge of what can be achieved during the next storm event.
30/10/2024
The Occold emergency plan has been sent to the Babergh and Mid Suffolk emergency group for evaluation. The plan sets out the actions the individuals in the group need to try and take if we have another storm related flooding incident in the village. To support the deployment of warning signs to warn of road flooding, which was the case with Storm Babet, Councillors Weller and Duggett have gained an NRSWA SLG Operatives certificate which means all such activity would be covered by BMSC insurance. Alongside the emergency plan a Flood Card will be produced and issued to residents. The Flood Card will list emergency numbers and how to contact the Occold Flood Group members who may be able to offer some emergency short term help. Remember to look at the links here which will help you plan for your own situation and circumstances.
https://suffolkprepared.co.uk/get-prepared/prepare-yourself/ for further guidance and
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/personal-flood-plan
11/06/2024
The first meeting took place in December 2023 with the key action point of beginning to map the drains and ditches around the village. The surface water drainage system in Occold has evolved over many centuries and is far from intuitive. One of the benefits from having a definitive map will be understanding which landowner or property owner has responsibility for lengths of ditch and culvert and from that work to determine whether help is required to maintain or clear overgrown areas where necessary. The mapping exercise has made excellent progress and we now have the first draft of an Occold wide map showing drains, culverts and water flow. This will be revised over the next month or so and be a key document for all future work. The map will be shared with Highways to help fill in some blanks in their records.
The first draft of an emergency plan has been produced and the group has begun identifying some key partners which need to be involved in the whole process. One of these is ORAC who are custodians of a major village asset, the village hall. The ORAC committee have a significant amount of local knowledge which will be an invaluable addition to the overall management of the flooding issue. When the plan is in a fit state it will be shared on these pages for comment and wider availability.
In the meantime the group is after some volunteers. (Don’t lose interest at this point!)
The portable flood defences and Road Closed signs are the first step in understanding what practical activity is needed to help stop or slow down flood water. To deploy the Road Closed signs, and anything similar on the highway, requires volunteers to be trained to recognised best practice and to manage the risks. Suffolk County Council offer training courses which deal with these issues and this is where you may like to become involved. Ideally a core number of people will raise their hands and say I’m in. If that is you then let me know on the village Facebook site or email the editor@occold.com.
All of the training on offer is free of charge with the benefit of the individual being covered by the SCC insurance if the signs have to be deployed.
Whilst the group continues to gain traction it would be worth visiting https://suffolkprepared.co.uk/get-prepared/prepare-yourself/ for further guidance and
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/personal-flood-plan which has further details about preparing for flooding.
It is worth noting that Occold is not in a flood area. We do not have a river or other body of water nearby which could cause major flooding.
If we get some plans in place now then we will be in a better place after the summer is over, if it ever begins, and the autumn rains starts to arrive.
Andrew Duggett
11/06/2024