About

Our pilot project for Building Resilience Together in Cambridge and Peterborough was delivered in two areas – St Ives and Alconbury; part of a landscape known as ‘The Fens’. It produces 35% of the vegetable production in the UK.  Recent risk assessments conducted by the Combined Authority has highlighted rising temperatures bringing intensified flooding, severe droughts, biodiversity loss, and drastic disruptions to agriculture as the main challenges facing the area and our communities. 

St.Ives is a low lying medieval town which was founded on the banks of the Great River Ouse. The main challenge and environmental hazard is flooding, although the town is also at the confluence of several large roads so major accidents are also a risk.  The river splits the town in half so when the town floods people can be cut off from services or must divert 15 miles to get to the other side of the town. 

During recent years flood plains nearby have been unable to cope with the increase in water levels. Residents are concerned about the flood risk and have set up a flood action group, they are aware that elderly residents living on the banks of the river are especially vulnerable during heavy rain.   

Alconbury is a small village some 5 miles outside St. Ives its main challenge is flooding. 

The Alconbury catchment is relatively ‘flashy’ in comparison to the wider River Great Ouse catchment, meaning that is reacts quickly to rainfall and the onset of flooding can be rapid. 
 
Alconbury has an extensive history of flooding, notably in 1998 when, unfortunately, more than 100 properties flooded across both villages, and in winter 2020/21 when over 75 properties were flooded.  
 
Records also indicate that properties have flooded in March 1947, July 1968, October 1987, November 2000, and March 2016. 

Alconbury also has two major roads the intersect nearby – the A1 and A14, major road incidents have impacted the village on numerous occasions. 

Growing Community Resilience

Since the pandemic we have seen a rise in the number of isolated people, especially the elderly.  St Ives Town Council and local community groups were aware that vulnerable individuals were more at risk especially from flood water. 

The Building Resilience Together project enabled the local flood action group to work in a more co-ordinated way both within the town and with the local resilience forum. 

Using the experience and connections provided by Groundworks and British Red Cross enabled a small group of active volunteers to raise awareness of what local communities can do if they get the right support and guidance. 

The BRT project enabled our local VCSE infrastructure organisation to link with and become a member of the LRF.  This connection has highlighted with all partners the power of local communities (especially during recent flooding incidents). 

Impact

We started rather late on the project but with help and support from BRT team, we visited a project in person to look at what they’d done well and what challenges they had already faced.   

• The first thing we learned was you don’t have to reinvent things, talk to others (everyone is willing to share), and whilst all areas are different some challenges remain the same. 

The BRT team came and supported us both before and during meetings with interested groups.  These meetings were at times painful, it felt like we were going round in circles, covering things in minute detail rather getting an overview and general support for the project. 

• The second thing we learned was that you can’t always bring everyone with you at the same time.  Some people need more help to engage and feel valued.  Although I am pleased to say we’ve brought everyone with us, some people have taken a backseat now, but their talents and interests have been noted and they are continually being engaged with. 

We now have one ELP and will have four ELP hubs in St. Ives by early December, with the ELP/hub in Alconbury ready to launch early January. 

• The third thing we learnt is that you definitely need a small steering group of people who are action focused and get things done. 

We’ve had some success with a local farmer/businessman who has offered his workforce and access to equipment anytime we need it.  He’s signed an MoU outlining what he can offer – includes a generator, sandbags, land rovers with drivers to evacuate vulnerable residents. 

Sustainable City Resilience

Cambridge and Peterborough is a mainly rural county; we’ve tried to engage with our rural parishes and town councils, raising awareness of community resilience and the role they could play. 

We spoke at the Town and Parish Conference in October and have several parish councillors (and our Local MP) interested in setting up a resilience committee. 

The connections made with the Local Resilience Forum and VCSE has gone from strength to strength, recognition that the VCSE is a vital part of the system has been reinforced by the submission of a bid to continue funding this work in 2025/26. 

One of the outcomes for the pilot project for us is a template on how community resilience hubs could support our rural communities, bringing together committed volunteers whilst supporting vulnerable individuals.