Exhibition to be held to mark 50th anniversary of Lympstone floods

An exhibition about the last great flood in Lympstone which happened 50 years ago, takes place in the Methodist Hall this weekend. It is being held jointly between the Environment Agency and Lympstone Parish Council.

The event, to be held on Saturday, June 5, between 10am and 4pm, will be coupled with details of local measures to help ease flooding now and in the future, including the recruitment of local volunteers to help as Flood Wardens for the Lympstone Community Flood Plan.

Staff from the Environment Agency will attend to give advice to people.

Large-scale floods in September 1960 caused problems in Lympstone – so severe that people had to use boats to move around the village.

After the floods of 1960 work was put in hand to control the Brook in the lower village.

The major elements of the scheme were to channel the water between two high concrete walls downstream from Mill Path Bridge, build a strong wall across the valley on the upstream side of the car park and turn the brook into a culvert.

In 2006 the Environment Agency spent £900,000 raising Lympstone’s sea defences.

This scheme involved raising and strengthening walls along the estuary, raising two slipways and installing 7 manually operated electronically monitored gates.
Research conducted by the Environment Agency shows 160 houses in Lympstone are at risk of flooding.

Adele Needham for the Environment Agency told the Devon Week: “Lympstone is at risk from flooding in two directions – from the Exe estuary and from the Wotton Brook. Both threats are well recognised and have been addressed by flood defences built in recent years. But as global warming raises sea levels and triggers more extreme bursts of rainfall, the threats are increasing.”

“The most acute threat is from a combination of factors affecting both the estuary and brook. A prolonged wet period soaks the ground, meaning that rainfall runs off quickly, especially from pasture or tarmac rather than ploughed land.”

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