The Flooding Resilience Conference 2025
Past and Present Supporters Include:
Overview
Flooding remains one of the most pressing and recurrent natural disasters affecting communities in the UK. The increasing threat of climate change has exacerbated the risk that faces local communities. As a result, local authorities must work in partnerships with the central government and local communities to develop pro-active and sustainable flood action plan which can reduce the human and economic costs of flooding.
Agenda
Registration
Chair’s Opening Remarks
Keynote: Outlining the Impacts of Increased Government Funding on Flood Defences
- Breaking down where the government’s funding will be allocated for shoring up Britain’s flood resilience
- Considering local councils and the accessibility to new funding for flood resilience
- Reflections on addressing regional disparities when ensuring comprehensive protection for all communities affected by flooding
- Considering the criteria to which flood defence success is measured
- Highlighting the uncertainty in long-term funding commitments due to budgetary constraints
Julie Foley, Director of Flood Risk Strategy & National Adaptation, Environmental Agency (CONFIRMED)
Keynote: Building Flood-Resilient Housing
- Highlighting the challenges caused by the Government’s plans to build houses on known flood-zones
- Strengthening planning regulations to ensure new developments incorporate flood resilience measures, such as raised foundations and sustainable drainage systems
- Investing in flood defence infrastructure to protect new and existing communities
- Ensuring affordable and accessible insurance for homeowners in flood-prone areas through collaboration with Flood Re schemes and financial incentives for resilience measures
- Encouraging alternative housing solutions by prioritising developments in low-risk areas and solutions to mitigate flood risk
Daniel Cook, Chartered Water and Environment Manager and Flood Risk Consultant, aegaea (CONFIRMED)
Questions & Answers
Comfort Break
Keynote: Community Engagement for Flooding: Strengthening Local Resilience
- Establishing Flood Action Groups to empower residents in flood-prone areas, enhancing preparedness and local response efforts
- Developing community flood plans to outline key actions before, during, and after flooding, ensuring a coordinated response
- Building partnerships with local authorities to improve flood resilience and influence decision-making processes
- Increasing public awareness through education campaigns, online engagement, and flood warning sign-ups to ensure communities stay well-informed of risk and dangers
- Securing funding for flood resilience projects by accessing funding for equipment, infrastructure improvements, and community initiatives
Senior Representative, National Flooding Forum (invited)
Case Study: Farming and Flood Risk – Strengthening Agricultural Resilience
- Enhancing natural flood management by supporting farmers in planting cover crops, improving soil health, and restoring wetlands to reduce flood risks
- Advocating for government recognition of farmers’ contributions to flood prevention, including fair compensation for land used as flood storage
- Outlining how financial incentives for flood-resilience support farmers
- Providing targeted support through the Farming Recovery Fund to help farmers recover from uninsurable flood damage and extreme weather events
- Collaborating with the Government’s Flood Resilience Taskforce and the Rural Flood Resilience Partnership to integrate farmers into national flood planning strategies
Senior Representative, National Farmers Union (NFU) (invited)
Questions & Answers
Lunch Break
Keynote: Improving the Capabilities of Frontline Flood Responders
- Exploring the ‘resilience deficit’ between firefighters’ responses to floods and the Governments’ policies for managing flood risks
- Outlining the responsibilities of firefighters and first responders to floods
- Considering the health risks of water-related work and reviewing the PPE provided to first responders
- Ensuring responders have a working knowledge of equipment needed when responding the floods
Senior Representative, Fire Brigades Union (FBU) (invited)
Case Study: Scour Prevention and Management
- Assessing site conditions through studies and sediment analysis to identify high-risk scour areas and inform protective measures
- Implementing structural solutions such to shield foundations from erosive forces
- Enhancing soil stability with erosion-resistant materials to reduce sediment displacement and maintain foundation integrity
- Monitoring scour-prone areas through inspections to detect early signs of erosion and implement timely interventions
- Adapting protection strategies with engineering techniques for scour control solutions to improve resilience against flooding
Dr Manu Sasidharan, Assistant Professor in Infrastructure Asset Management, UCL (CONFIRMED)
Questions & Answers
Breakout Networking: Collaborative Flood Planning
Join this interactive session to explore key challenges in developing an effective local flood management plan. Engage in discussions, share insights from your experiences, and collaborate with experts across sectors to strengthen community resilience and improve flood preparedness strategies.
Comfort Break
Keynote: Developing Successful Flood Recovery Strategies
- Distributing community and business recovery funding quickly to eligible households and small businesses to aid immediate recovery efforts
- Deploying an easily administered recovery support package for local authorities following floods
- Coordinating with Lead Local Flood Authorities to ensure accurate reporting and fair distribution of funding across impacted areas
- Prioritising households and businesses significantly affected by flooding with funding and support
- Collaborating with local resilience forums to strengthen long-term recovery and future flood preparedness
Senior Representative, Essex County Council (invited)
Lived Experience: The Health and Wellbeing Impacts of Flooding
- Assessing the immediate health risks of flooding, including injuries, infections, and chemical exposure, to guide emergency response efforts
- Considering the long-term psychological impacts of flooding, such as anxiety, depression, and PTSD, to inform mental health support services
- Ensuring accessibility to healthcare and social support in aftermath of flooding
- Minimising the psychological impact of flooding by ensuring housing and financial instability are supported by financial aid/insurance
- Supporting vulnerable people, such as the elderly, by establishing targeted assistance programs during and after floods
Senior Representative, Public Health England (invited)
Questions & Answers
Chair’s Closing Remarks
Conference Close
Get in Touch
Previous Speakers
Tracey Garrett
CEO
National Flood Forum
Ed Beard
Assistant Director
National Infrastructure Forum
Anna Daroy
CEO
Chartered Institute of Water and Environmental Management
Celia Davis
Projects and Policy Manager
Town and Country Planning Association
Jon Goldie
Deputy Director – Preparedness & Recovery
Environmental Agency
Testimonials
The Flooding Conference had some really insightful talks about how we can manage flood risks in the UK into the future as climate change is always a pressing issue. It brought up some innovative ideas to take away and hopefully bring some change into the legislations and policies going forward
A useful day spent learning about the challenges and opportunities facing us in the field of flood resilience now and in the future
Excellent event that was well organised with quality presentations from all the speakers
Very informative, a lot of good talking points noted from interesting speakers on interesting topics
Why You Should Attend?
Why Attend:
✓ Hear the latest updates on the current government policy to improve national flood resilience
✓ Gain tools and strategies to improve partnership working with communities and other agencies
✓ Engage with best practice on local authority plans for flood-resilience and recovery
✓ Network with speakers and senior colleagues from across the public sector involved with emergency relief and response
✓ 8 hours of CPD points towards your yearly quota
Who Should Attend?
| Job Title Example | Organisation Example |
| Civil Engineer | Environment Agency |
| Flood Risk Manager | Local Authorities |
| Fire and Safety Manager | Local Councils |
| Disaster Response Coordinator | Fire and Rescue Services |
| Policy Advisor | Local Resilience Forums |
| Community Engagement Lead | Insurance |
| Risk Analyst | DEFRA |
| Town Planner | Farming Unions |
Pricing Options
Public Sector
Your delegate place at this leading conference gives you: Full access to the conference; E-guide; Networking opportunities during the day; Access to presentations post conference; 8 CPD Points.
VOLUNTARY SECTOR
Your delegate place at this leading conference gives you: Full access to the conference; E-guide; Networking opportunities during the day; Access to presentations post conference; 8 CPD Points.
PRIVATE SECTOR
Your delegate place at this leading conference gives you: Full access to the conference; E-guide; Networking opportunities during the day; Access to presentations post conference; 8 CPD Points.
Sponsorship
Raise your Profile, Showcase Your Solutions, Generate New Business
If your products, services, and solutions can support our audiences in their roles, and you want to make connections and generate new business with key stakeholders, decision makers, and influencers, then please contact us using the enquiry form below.
IMPORTANT: There are only a small number of sponsorship opportunities available to ensure maximum exposure and ROI – contact us today to secure your place.
Virtual vs F2F
Whilst F2F provide better options for networking, there are many distinct advantages of sponsoring our online conferences including:
- Wider geographical reach of delegates and a different audience who prefer online to f2f
- Lower sponsorship package costs
- No travel/accommodation
- Less time out of the office
- No stand materials required (lower costs)
- 1 of only 2 sponsors involved – less competition on the day
- Prime speaking slot in the morning of the conference including Q&A – less distractions and easier for delegates to hear/absorb information
- Receive all delegate data after the conference to follow-up directly with those who attend and don’t attend (small % but still key stakeholders)
- Ongoing exposure via OnDemand access (coming soon)
To find out more and discuss your specific objectives, please contact us below:
