Peter Heberd gave us an excellent talk about how the Forest Authorities are attempting to manage Climate Change in the Forest and in particular Brockenhurst. Peter is working as a consultant trying to address immediate problems around Brockenhurst caused by flooding.

Three immediate problems have been addressed. The flooding under the bridge in Sway Rd, The flooding under the bridge on the Balmer Lawn Rd and the flooding outside the church by the Rise. In 2016 the max daily rainfall was 25mm in  a day. Since then on several occasions there has been 40mm in a day. When the water hits these levels the forest cannot cope with this volume of water. In order to alleviate the flooding it is essential that a number of agencies work together. These include The Natural England, the Verderers, the Councils, British Rail, Forestry England etc. Getting them to all work together on the problem is a nightmare as they all have different objectives. The tasks include clearing viaducts under bridges, clearing fallen trees redirecting river flows to water storage areas. Up to now no house has been flooded but it is only a matter of time. The message was clear. The problem is getting worse and serious focus is required to prevent flooding happening rather than trying to address it when has  happened