Our progress
- We've delivered over 41,000m2 of Sustainable Urban Drainage Schemes (SUDS) in our highways to date, which catch rainwater to help reduce flooding. We're mapping suitable areas to continue to implement these across the borough.
- We've installed green roofs and SUDS in our housing estates, and we're including climate resilience in our housing investment programme to ensure our residents are safe and comfortable in extreme weather.
- Our highways projects always look at how they can incorporate resilience to extreme weather, and we're looking at doing this across all our planned capital projects to ensure long-term resilience.
- Our Local Plan policies ensure new developments improve the borough's resilience to flooding, overheating and water scarcity. We've developed more detailed guidance in our draft Climate Change Supplementary Planning Document.
- Since mid-2019, we've secured over 16,300m2 of green roofs from new developments, and the capacity of new developments to reduce stormwater run-off is increasing.
- A full climate risk assessment for the borough is underway to identify vulnerable areas and inform our adaptation strategies.
- We're mapping 'Cool spots' and 'Warm welcome' centres to help residents seek refuge during heatwaves and cold snaps.
- We've created guidance for residents on how they can design their homes and gardens to reduce flood risk.
Our community’s achievements
- St Mary's Roman Catholic Primary School and St Thomas of Canterbury Roman Catholic Primary School have been part of the Mayor's Climate Resilient Schools programme to install adaptation measures like sustainable drainage planters.
- Community groups are helping to plant and maintain SUDs in our highways, including the Masbro Centre for Milson Road and Masbro Road, and the Ashchurch Centre in Starch Green.