{"id":8408,"date":"2014-08-30T16:41:26","date_gmt":"2014-08-30T15:41:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ihbconline.co.uk\/newsachive\/?p=8408"},"modified":"2014-08-30T16:41:26","modified_gmt":"2014-08-30T15:41:26","slug":"national-trust-reports-on-boscastle-flood-recovery","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/?p=8408","title":{"rendered":"National Trust reports on Boscastle flood recovery"},"content":{"rendered":"

The National Trust (NT) has reported on the recovery of the community of Boscastle following devastating floods of 2004; a multi agency operation and community participation has seen historic buildings repaired, protective measures installed and works to the river valley completed<\/span>.<\/p>\n

NT writes<\/span>:
\nVisit the picturesque harbour village of Boscastle in Cornwall today and you wouldn\u2019t guess that on 16 August 2004 this thriving coastal community, which we help to look after, suffered a 1-in-400 year weather event.<\/p>\n

Flash floods caused by exceptional rainfall \u2013 over a month\u2019s rain fell in just two hours \u2013 devastated the village, destroying homes and businesses. The force of the water washed 100 cars out to sea, wiped out around 1,000 trees and deposited 20 years\u2019 worth of river sediment in the village in a day.<\/p>\n

But Boscastle\u2019s story is one of a remarkable turnaround. Within days of the catastrophic floods a standard had been set for the huge recovery task ahead; \u2018visitors coming back to the village should not be able to tell what has happened\u2019. And you can\u2019t.<\/p>\n

The narrow river which runs through the centre of the village has been deepened to create extra capacity but still retains its natural feel thanks to efforts to mimic the natural river system with pools and \u2018riffles\u2019 (shallower stretches) that are good for wildlife.<\/p>\n

Trees in the valley above the village have been kept rather than felled to act as traps for sediment and debris. Stone in keeping with the character of the village was used to rebuild garden walls and the floors and walls of houses and businesses.<\/p>\n

Sympathetic measures like these have meant Boscastle remains a scenic village full of Cornish coastal charm, popular for walking and wildlife spotting or simply for pottering around the attractive shops and caf\u00e9s.<\/p>\n

Our part in the regeneration project called on our experience in restoring historic buildings and landscape but was inspired by the way the Boscastle community pulled together in the wake of the floods. It\u2019s a memory that has stayed with Jeff Cherrington, our head ranger at Boscastle.<\/p>\n

\u2018People at the top of the village hosted those with flood damaged houses for months after the event,\u2019 said Jeff. \u2018Offers of help came from everywhere; the village hall acted as a central point to give books, toys, food and clothes to those who had lost all their personal effects.\u2019<\/p>\n

Taking the villagers\u2019 lead we worked together with the Environment Agency the University of Exeter and Rivers Restoration Trust to clear, rebuild and repair the damage to the village and surrounding countryside while keeping true to the character and history of Boscastle.<\/p>\n

Adapting the village to cope in the event of future flooding was also key. This included raising floors and electric sockets in buildings we care for and making land available for a new car park so a catchment channel could be created in the site of the old one, creating space that the river can fill when high.<\/p>\n

Making a \u2018braided section\u2019 of river valley above the village has also helped to slow the river down. Working with the natural flow of the river rather than trying to get the water out to the sea as fast as possible is another example of the innovative thinking we needed to apply to maintain the nature of this special place.<\/p>\n

\u2018I\u2019m really proud of what we have achieved,\u2019 said Jeff. \u2018By working in partnership with the Environment Agency and the community we have a scheme that nestles well in this historic setting rather than seeing hard defences as the solution.\u2019<\/p>\n

NT work on the coast and climate change<\/a><\/p>\n

IHBC newsblogs on flooding<\/a><\/p>\n

National Trust article<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The National Trust (NT) has reported on the recovery of the community of Boscastle following devastating floods of 2004; a multi agency operation and community participation has seen historic buildings repaired, protective measures installed and works to the river valley … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8408","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sector-newsblog"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8408","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=8408"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8408\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8409,"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8408\/revisions\/8409"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=8408"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=8408"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=8408"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}