Memoranda

Seven Norfolk flood sirens out of action

 

The Eastern Daily Press of 16th August carried this article by Dominic Chessum on the state of our coastal flood sirens.

A test of the county's flood sirens has revealed that seven out of the 57 dotted around the coast are currently out of action - a failure rate of nearly 12pc. County council engineers are now planning to visit each site where a siren has failed and assess the cost of either repairing or scrapping them.

The annual test, which took place earlier this month, saw sirens fail at Cley Lime Kiln, Weybourne, Great Yarmouth College, Oriel High, Bacton, Hemsby First School and Hunstanton South Beach. Out of these the county council is planning to repair the sirens at Bacton, Hunstanton, Cley and Hemsby, which are amongst the 40 Norfolk County Council's cabinet voted to save earlier this year.

The vote to save the sirens, which are used to sound the alarm for an evacuation, was an about turn from an earlier plan to scrap them all after they were deemed no longer fit for purpose. The police said they would not use them and the Environment Agency said it preferred its own telephone based warning system. The proposal will keep the 40 sirens in operation for the next three years but campaigners, who fought hard to reverse the original decision, are now calling for all those saved to be upgraded so they can continue to operate after 2014 when the analogue signal is switched off.

For more information about flooding and flood sirens or to register for the Environment Agency flood warnings call 0845 9881188 or visit www.edp24.co.uk/dailylinks and follow the link to the Environment Agency website.

 

More info on Flood Sirens - May 2009

 

Those RAYNET members who backed me in lobbying for the continuity of Flood
Sirens along the vulnerable Norfolk Coast will be happy to learn that at
long last a degree of progress has evolved.

Our lobbying and that of many aware people living by the surge and flood
threatened parts resulted in a London meeting of North Norfolk MP Norman
Lamb, North West Norfolk MP Henry Bellingham, Wells Flood Wardens Marie and
Mike Strong and Cley Flood Warden Tony Aberdein with DEFRA Minister Huw
Irranca-Davies', who gave his support for an independent review into the
case for the sirens.

As this debate has gone on for almost a year already, it is hoped that a
decision is reached before next Winter. Already the Environment Agency heads
have offered to contribute to the cost and Norfolk County Council, who own
the sirens, have stated that they wish to keep them. But the Police and EA
have said they will not use them in the event of a flood because they are
"old and unreliable" and thus they want the public to use an automated phone
warning system instead.

No decision has yet been made about the review, which would need to be led
by the siren owners Norfolk County Council. The sirens debate looks set to
continue in mid July, which is the next time the relevant county council
panel meets in public.

Pat, G3IOR 20th May '09