Boroughbridge, a market town in Yorkshire, was the first area in the UK to pilot ‘Dry Run' - Flood Plan UK 's new community flood planning workshop. You can run a similar exercise in your area using our Community flood planning guide.

On Saturday November 15 2008 , members of the Boroughbridge community including councillors, emergency services, community group leaders and residents, gathered to run through a flood scenario simulation exercise. Experts from the Environment Agency, National Flood Forum, British Red Cross, local councils and Aviva contributed to the realism of the evolving flood scenarios, which played out through a series of mock radio news bulletins which punctuated the day.

“The Met Office has issued a severe weather warning…”

“Flood Watches have been issued…”

“Boroughbridge's flood defences have overtopped...”

[Audio recordings courtesy of BBC Radio York]

Boroughbridge is no stranger to flooding with major incidents in 1982 and 1991, yet throughout the exercise all participants agreed that it was time to improve communications within the community, and add a new community dimension to existing flood plans to ensure Boroughbridge is as resilient to flooding as possible. An immediate learning was the need for greater clarity over the roles and responsibilities of the key delivery organisations involved in a flood incident.

Groups of community members gathered around a series of aerial photographs, maps and 3D models of the town to role play each scenario and devise the best response, ensure the correct people were liaising with one another, and agree a list of required actions by key players.

Boroughbridge's Dry Run was facilitated by community engagement specialists, the Environment Council, with funding and project support provided by the UK 's largest insurer, Aviva.

• Read a summary of the Boroughbridge simulation workshop
• Read a full transcript of the Boroughbridge simulation workshop

Read first hand accounts from Boroughbridge workshop participants