May/June 2026 Newsletter

Welcome to the latest edition of the Somerset Prepared newsletter. 

For those of you looking to apply for funding from the Somerset Prepared Small Grants Scheme, the next deadline for submissions is 30th June. Please be sure to get applications in before this time.

As regards events, the main focus for 2026 is our annual Somerset Prepared Community Resilience Day. This year it will be held at Millfield School in Street on Wednesday 21st October. The day runs from 9am-4pm and will see a host of practical workshops, informative talks and a chance to network with peers and resilience professionals. We hope you’ll join us and continue building strong, resilient communities across Somerset. We are also looking for a headline sponsor for the event so do get in touch on somersetprepared@somerset.gov.uk if your organisation would like to be involved. 

If you have any queries about this or any of the other features in our newsletter, please contact us at somersetprepared@somerset.gov.uk. We welcome submissions or suggestions for future topics.

Somerset Emergency Planning, Response and Recovery team

& Somerset Prepared Partners

Signs of summer in Taunton

Book your free ticket here for this event here:

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/community-resilience-day-2026-tickets-1990766160175

Partner Update - EVAG

Flood Resilience for households can not be built when the waters are rising- it's too late! Help will not arrive in time.

Now is the time to ask yourself  - could our house flood?

If you think it might, ask for a free flood protection survey from  EVAG, the registered charity which protects households which might flood.

If kit is required it's likely to be issued at the time of the survey to enable instant protection.

The cost is minimal as we receive such strong support from Somerset Prepared- and they subsidise the kit cost to an amazing level of 80%.

Contact Somerset Prepared or EVAG at evag@evag.uk.

Don't forget that some severe flash floods can occur in the Summer. Protect now!

No time like the present.

Partner Update - Environment Agency

The local Environment Agency team run monthly online ‘lunch and learn’ sessions for community volunteers and flood wardens. These sessions are a half hour presentation with a guest speaker, followed by a half hour Q&A, and usually run from 12.30 -1.30pm on a Thursday.

The next Lunch and Learn session is scheduled for Thursday 23 July, 12:30pm on Local Resilience Forums https://www.gov.uk/guidance/local-resilience-forums-contact-details

Recordings of Previous Lunch and Learn Sessions:

Natural Flood Management, NFM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0pAXjjh56oY

Flash Flooding

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HcK2ufdPTwg

Property Flood Resilience, PFR

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6KDAaupa4h0

Introduction to the Flood Warden Role

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_niBfDjQQU

Flood Risk Management

https://youtu.be/h2IqZyAVuZI

New Environment Agency Warning Service for rivers, sea and groundwater

https://youtu.be/bhRDiixZQDk

Groundwater Flooding 2026

https://youtu.be/CR6xkrHFa0U

Flood Mary - Experiencing and recovering from flooding and building resilience for future events.

https://youtu.be/J6TjOIPHk1I

FloodRe and Build Back Better (flood insurance cover and claims)

https://youtu.be/T0lmuJI4fdk

Community Emergency Plans, Flood Plans and Flood Warden Action Cards

https://youtu.be/8-yc_ZZD3WI

Partner update - Communities Prepared

Help shape new Communities Prepared workshops

Communities Prepared supports communities across the UK to prepare for, respond to and recover from emergencies and severe weather events through free training, resources and peer learning opportunities.

This July, we're trialling a new series of interactive online workshops and are looking for community volunteers, flood wardens, resilience groups and other community representatives to help shape the future of our programme.

These one-hour sessions will focus on discussion, shared learning and collaboration, giving participants the opportunity to exchange experiences, hear practical insights from others and help us test and develop a new workshop-based approach that we hope to roll out more widely in the autumn.

If you are interested in helping shape this new offer, please visit our events page and sign up for one of the July workshops:Communities Prepared events page

We would love to hear from anyone interested in building community resilience and sharing their experiences with others.

Volunteer Appreciation

As Volunteers’ Week was celebrated from 1–7 June, Somerset Prepared would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to everyone across Somerset who has stepped forward to volunteer their time and skills for community resilience. Whether as part of Emergency Planning Groups, Somerset Emergency Community Contacts, Flood Wardens, Places of Safety volunteers, or in other roles, each volunteer truly makes a difference in strengthening the resilience of their community.

We also sent our thanks to the Somerset Emergency Voluntary Agencies Group (SEVAG), which brings together 20 voluntary organisations committed to working with us in preparing for and responding to emergencies. We recently hosted a meeting with SEVAG, where members had the chance to do a “show and tell” of their emergency vehicles and resources. It was fantastic to see vehicles from Wessex 4x4 Response and Bloodbikes on display, highlighting the range of support available in Somerset.

Bloodbikes on show at a recent Somerset Emergency Voluntary Agencies Group (SEVAG) meeting

Burnham’s Emergency Services Day – 30th August 2026

 Burnham’s 21st Emergency Services Day is just around the corner, taking place on Sunday, 30th August 2026. This fantastic event is organised annually by Burnham Area Rescue Boats (BARB Search and Rescue), and it’s a wonderful opportunity for the public to meet and chat with emergency services, voluntary agencies, and other organisations involved in emergency response.

The event will be held along the Esplanade in Burnham on Sea and kicks off with a short opening ceremony at 10:00 am, wrapping up around 4:00 pm. Throughout the day there will be plenty to see and do, including exciting demonstrations both on the beach and at sea from the RNLI, BARB, and HM Coastguard. Visitors can also enjoy a variety of activities such as emergency vehicle displays, a gymnastics show, dance performances, and a set from the Burnham Town Band. To keep everyone refreshed and energised, there will be food and drink outlets and various other stalls dotted along the Esplanade.

 It promises to be a brilliant day out for all ages, and it would be great if you could make a note of the date and help spread the word—please encourage family and friends to come along and show their support for the teams who help keep our communities safe.

Wessex 4x4 Response Volunteers

Hinkley Site Stakeholder Group Feedback

Somerset Council is pleased to announce the 2026 Community Feedback process for reviewing the off-site emergency planning arrangements for Hinkley Point B (HPB).

 EDF Energy have produced a new revised site risk assessment (consequence report) for HPB.

Somerset Council is required to review this report to determine the appropriate size of any emergency planning zones that surround the site.

 As part of the process, we are keen to hear from the local community and have setup an online portal to capture any feedback.

The portal also contains a copy of the EDF Consequence Report and a Public Information Factsheet.

 Somerset Council - Hinkley Point B Community Information & Feedback Portal

 We are also running two community drop-in sessions which will be at Stogursey Victory Hall. (details included on attached poster)

 SSG Members are welcome to print and display poster on noticeboards as appropriate.

Partner Update - Somerset Council

Places of Safety and Somerset Emergency Community Contacts Information

 We appreciate everyone who recently responded to Matt Fry, Emergency Planning Officer, regarding updates to the information the Emergency Planning Team maintains for registered Places of Safety. At present, both the Emergency Planning Team and Somerset Council’s Digital IT Team are working together to improve how we gather and manage details for Places of Safety and Somerset Emergency Community Contacts. The aim is to make it simpler for you to keep your information current.

When registering on the Somerset Prepared website, please remember to include these details in your Community Emergency Plan. Staying up to date is crucial—any changes to contacts should be communicated promptly, as this enables us to better support you during emergencies.

Partner Update: Somerset Rivers Authority

Flood Group Network Meetings 2026

We have held the first Flood Group Network meetings of 2026 for the Tone, Axe-Brue and Parrett catchments. We are working on dates for the next set of meetings. If you want to know more please email Bel on Bel.deering@somerset.gov.uk

Finally - take three actions to help

This spring here are three things you can do to make a difference for your community:

• Check out the Communities Prepared workshops

• Book your ticket for the Somerset Prepared Community Resilience Day on 21st October 2026

• Help us find a headline sponsor for the community resilience day - share this ask with your networks

Featured images 

Here at Somerset Prepared we like to feature somerset in all its glory! Do you have an image of Somerset you would like to share? Send your images to somersetprepared@somerset.gov.uk for a chance to be featured!