Residents in Haverhill, Suffolk, can attend a practical workshop on March 2, 2026, at Haverhill Arts Centre to learn simple, local approaches to drainage and flood risk. The event is aimed at community groups and households concerned about surface-water flooding and local drainage problems; the research background also notes broader regional pressures on water supply and sewer capacity.
The session at Haverhill Arts Centre will be led by entrepreneur and former investigative journalist Shiv Malik, founder of the Forest City campaign, who plans to demonstrate hands-on, decentralised water-management measures that community groups and households can adopt. Participants will be shown practical, low‑cost techniques — such as rainwater harvesting, sustainable drainage (SuDS) approaches and natural drainage/soil-management measures — designed to reduce local flood risk without major construction work.
The workshop follows a period of heightened local concern: the Environment Agency issued flood warnings for the Stour Brook in late 2025 and early 2026 affecting the stretch between Meldham Bridge in Haverhill and Linnetts Lane in Sturmer. Residents and local reports have raised questions about how existing infrastructure handles heavy rainfall, surge flows and blocked drains.
Organisers say the session will focus on easy-to-implement actions — for example improving local surface-water management, installing simple rainwater-collection systems and using natural features to slow runoff — that can give households and neighbourhood groups more control over everyday flood risk.
Official planning and technical documents, including the West Suffolk Council Strategic Flood Risk Assessment (Level 1), April 2021, indicate parts of Haverhill are susceptible to fluvial and surface-water flooding where the Stour Brook narrows as it enters the town. The workshop aims to equip local people with practical measures to reduce those persistent local risks.
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