Reclaiming the Rain in little blakenham
Little Blakenham is a small village located just three miles northwest of Ipswich in the heart of the Suffolk countryside.
working with the Community
To better understand the potential opportunities and challenges in Little Blakenham, it’s important to get to know the community first.
Engaging with small rural communities can be a complex process with unique challenges. However, by identifying the most effective methods of engagement, we can gain insight into the community's current attitudes and behaviours, and who would benefit most from additional water sources. By tailoring our approach to each community, we can build trust and establish meaningful relationships, ultimately leading to more successful and sustainable solutions.
parish council meetings
We have attended parish council meetings to first introduce the project and later, to update on any progress in the village. We are also sending updates to be read out in the Parish Council Meetings to keep the community informed on a regular basis.
Working group meetings
We have established a small community working group of passionate local people and have been hosting workshops to identify the issues and opportunities in the catchment. We are now using these workshops to develop scheme ideas for Little Blakenham and maximise the benefit to the community
door knocking
Door-knocking has been a great way for us to interact with the local community. This type of face-to-face engagement has been the most successful and valuable form of communication so far with this community.
Little Blakenham From the air
Why Was little blakenham chosen?
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Little Blakenham is surrounded by agricultural land in the area, so it is likely that water reuse will tie into this. Given the size of the village, there’s the potential to work closely with residents too.
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Little Blakenham catchment is a particular water-stressed area, which (without management or mitigation) is predicted to go into a water deficit in 2024. (Water Resources Management Plan, Wheatley Water Source, 2023).
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The catchment area for Little Blakenham is relatively small compared to the other Suffolk communities, with only one surface water flow path, which eventually joins the main Somersham watercourse. Given the catchment's less complex hydrology, the scale and type of scheme options for this community and resultant monitoring will likely reflect this.
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local political support from the Parish Council and interest from a local landowner were established early on in the project.
Problems & CHALLENGES Facing little blakenham
flooding
Unlike our other Suffolk communities, at the time of community selection, there was limited evidence bases to draw from to understand the flood risk in Little Blakenham. Currently, we are working on our own modelling to find out more about the surface water catchment, to gain a better understanding of these flow paths and predicted flood risk to residential properties in the village now and into the future. We know from local knowledge that the community suffers from highway flooding, and water pooling on fields to the downstream extent of the ordinary watercourse, but this is typically only an issue for the landowner and does not impact properties.
Water Scarcity
Little Blakenham is home to several farms, and agriculture has been an important part of the village's economy for centuries. With much of this area being agricultural land there is a high demand for water to support business. The strain on local water resources in Little Blakenham is likely to keep increasing with the changing climate.
Little Blakenham is nestled in the beautiful Suffolk countryside surrounded by hills and fields. Little Blakenham faces challenges with our changing climate, particularly with the increasing strain on water resources during times of drought. This means that planning ahead to increase resilience in the village is very important and raises fantastic opportunities to find new ways to use flood water.
