Campaigners keep up fight to 'take action' against Brampton floods
Flooding hit parts of the village three times last year
Villagers trying to stop flooding from repeating itself in Brampton are still wondering what action can be taken.
Some areas of the village - including Hansell Road - were affected by floods three times last year.
Earlier this year, campaigners have previously shared their concerns over the response from local authorities around how floods like these can be prevented in future.
"We do want to take action for our village, we do want to look after our neighbours," Chip Colquhoun, from the Brampton Flood Group (BFG), said.
"What we don't want to do is go and be all slapdash about it, using the fancy equipment they've funded for us and end up causing a big flood issue further downstream or put somebody's health at risk."
Since last autumn, talks between residents, local councils and agencies to find a solution continue.
Mr Colquhoun told us that he and other volunteers would be happy to put flood prevention measures in place.
What is the response?
In June, the BFG met with the likes of Cambridgeshire County Council, Huntingdonshire District Council, Anglian Water and the Environment Agency (EA) to discuss how best to manage the risk of flooding.
“This support has included providing the group with equipment they can use, and we've carried out walkovers with community members and partners to discuss potential options for improving flood resilience," a county council spokesperson said.
“The council has cleared the drains on Buckden Road, and worked with Anglian Water to repair pipes at Brampton Brook."
The spokesperson added that it has "further investigations planned" for the area.
A Huntingdonshire District Council spokesperson said it will “continue to work closely with partners to support residents."
Flood plan created
Last November, the EA said it pledged to "monitoring rivers, inspecting our assets and doing maintenance and clearance activities."
It is now continuing to inspect river and flood defences along the Brampton Brook and said it's working with the BFG to create a flood plan to help the village's resilience to flooding.
“Regular maintenance activities have been carried out and we have been working with riparian owners to ensure they are minimising their flood risk impact," an EA spokesperson said.
“An initial assessment of flood risk along the Brampton Brook on the viability of any future flood defence scheme is under way.
“We continue to engage with the community and took part in a walkover of the area with residents and Cambridgeshire County Council earlier this year.”
Mr Colquhoun believes the response from councils and agencies has improved in the last 12 months.
Now in Flood Action Week, he's confident that despite being told by local authorities the risk of flooding won't go away, campaigners can still try to reduce the threat.
"Occasionally, we get told of little pots of funding that might be there to make improvements, but getting the exact answers to what we want to hear about is always a bit of a challenge," Mr Colquhoun said.
"Wea re still waiting for full clarity on what we can and can't do, but it seems like as we're chipping away, we are getting there.
"We are definitely in a better place now than we were last year."
Since it took power in July last year, the Government said it has delivered 151 flood schemes under its Plan for Change and safeguarded more than 24,000 homes and businesses from flooding.
Environment Secretary Emma Reynolds MP said the Government's £10.5 billion investment in its flood prevention programme until at least 2036 "will protect more people from the devastation of flooding.
“It will also help our towns and cities to prosper by driving forward economic growth, creating new jobs and building new homes for future generations.”