Grantham Rivercare co-leads write about flooding in January

For anybody hiding under a local rock, we have just witnessed the worst flooding in Grantham for more than 50 years, writes Ian Simmons and David Martin, co-leads of Grantham Rivercare.

We feel for those families in Belton Lane when the Witham effectively burst its bank adjacent to Wyndham Park and took a very unfortunate turn through the kiddies splash area and onto the junction at the bottom of Hill Avenue. This incident raises many questions, most of which we don’t have an answer to.

For example, how did the river rise so quickly? How did it manage to travel such a long distance across unfamiliar terrain after more than four decades?

Why do motorists insist on driving though flood water, creating bow waves that exacerbate the problem by ‘pushing’ water towards and, in some cases, into properties.

All this talk of it being a ‘once in a hundred year’ event. Let’s just see if any of us are still here to witness a repeat. Sooner or later we have to accept that things aren’t as they used to be and adapt our behaviour to mitigate what most experts claim is clear evidence pointing to dangerous climate change. Wetter winters, drier summers. No matter how arrogant and complacent we get, basic physics trumps us every time!

Let’s hope the damage caused is quickly repaired for those who were affected.

On the theme of continued improvements, it is that time of year again as Keep Britain Tidy launch their Great British Spring Clean ‘Love Where You Live’ campaign, which runs from March 21 to April 6. RiverCare BeachCare welcome this annual event as an additional way to promote what we do across Eastern England.

Look out for details about our river corridor cleans (February 22 and March 22 if you’re interested) and special events across town to further grind away at the grime in Grantham.

As a prelude to spring, last November some hardy volunteers, together with hardy public sector volunteers, planted bulbs in the eight planters in the area between Stonebridge and St Catherine’s Roads.

Assuming they can avoid the attention of the some students who like to lunch and congregate there, they should provide a nice splash of colour to brighten the moods of passers-by.

It’s the little things that make a difference. None of us can change the world by ourselves, but we can improve the bit that we live in here and now. Let’s do it together!