Reclaiming
the Rain in BOXFORD
Boxford is a beautiful village in south Suffolk which, like many villages, faces difficult challenges as it feels the effects of climate change.
Working with the Community
In order to find the value in flood water, it’s important to get to know Boxford’s community.
By understanding what current opinions and behaviours are, where the risk areas are, and who might benefit from additional water sources, we can begin to explore possible opportunity areas and schemes in Boxford.
Drop in Sessions
We have hosted drop-in sessions which were open to everyone in the community. This allowed our team to share more about the project, hear stories from the community and answer any questions.
Wokring group sessions
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 Boxford and maximise the benefit to the community.
Boxford market
More recently we have attended the monthly Boxford market, a well-established community event to speak to people about Reclaim the Rain and gain valuable local insight from the wider community.
parish council meetings
We have attended parish council meetings to introduce Reclaim the Rain and to update the community on our project progress. This will continue on an ad hoc basis when we have significant project updates to share.
box river news
As well as utilising social media, Reclaim the Rain writes articles to be featured in the local newsletter to update and engage as many readers as possible.
Boxford From the air
Why Was Boxford chosen?
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Boxford showed they have a strong interest in exploring how the community could be more water resilient. This interest has been shared across a wide range of individuals and organisations locally, putting cooperation at the heart of their project.
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Ever since the idea of Reclaim the Rain was introduced to them, Boxford has shown genuine enthusiasm to make the most of this opportunity.
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In the past Boxford has suffered from both river and surface water flooding. Creative solutions will be needed to address the local flood risk.
flooding in the centre of the Village
Boxford is a beautiful village in south Suffolk which, like many villages, faces difficult challenges from changing weather patterns. In the future it’s likely Boxford will face both flooding and drought, so it’s important to be ready to manage the effects.
Recent flood risk studies of Boxford found there’s risk to residential and commercial buildings from both surface water and river flooding. This means that planning ahead to increase resilience in the village is very important, and also raises fantastic opportunities to find new ways to use flood water.
Water Scarcity
As our climate changes, the country will face increasing challenges in managing our water resources, and this is important for Boxford too. Whether looking at fresh water supply to buildings, or water dependent habitats in the environment, it’s vital to protect what we have and improve it wherever we can.
