Lifehouses and Resilient Neighbourhoods-a new community based initiative.

Lifehouses and Resilient Neighbourhoods – a new community based initiative.

Facing up to the future where emergencies, crises, and even the collapse of some systems we rely on can be terrifying, but rather than getting so overwhelmed that we can’t think clearly and feel immobilised, there are many actions we can take together to make sure we can be as resilient as possible. Resilience comes in many forms as well as practical.

“Being part of a prepared caring community and facing these challenges together gives us emotional and psychological resilience too.
A Lifehouse is a neighbourhood or building where we prepare for the climate related “long emergency” . Empowered neighbourhoods can help navigate shocks like power outages,food scarcity, drought, pandemics, flooding,disruption to water supply, conflict,etc.
We are networking with other great initiatives in the South Devon area. Our launch in September 2025 was attended by over one hundred people, and there were fifty at our last meeting called “Why, when, what -lets prep “.

Of course we still need to campaign and lobby for more earth and nature friendly policies, we have not given up, but an honest assessment of our current predicament shows the neccessity of local communities preparing, adapting and protecting what matters most.”

After the Flooding in December that affected houses in Warlands, The Totnes Pulse contacted The Environment Agency for more information. They advised us “Our teams have been working proactively to reduce flooding impacts in Totnes, and staff across the region have been out clearing debris from trash screens, operating flood defences, and working closely with local partners.

“Unfortunately a small number of properties in Totnes were affected by surface water flooding following Monday night’s intense rainfall from Storm Bram. We are working in partnership with the local authority who leads on surface water flooding. We encourage everyone to get free flood warnings by calling Floodline on 0345 988 1188 or visiting https://www.gov.uk/get-flood-warnings.”

Green party councillor Jacqui Hodgson who sits on the South West Regional Flood and Coastal Commitee asked about the reasons for the flooding. Its clear this is an emerging picture and there are a combination of reasons… “The DCC flood team are putting together a report and I should have this in the next couple of weeks” – “The essence of the problem is that the surface water from the Plains etc discharges into the river. However when the river is too high, the pipes cannot discharge, in fact on this occasion the river water was flowing out of these pipes.”  The sentiment appears to be that the recent flood engineering works have not included this discharge. “I have asked the Flood team about options. For example there could be an attenuation tank to hold some of the heavy rain and discharge it slowly, preventing the peak that does do much damage, also maybe a pump to pump surface drainage water further downstream. We certainly need better prevention as this is likely to get a lot more frequent and potentially worse.”

Tuesday 24th Feb , 7-9pm at the Methodist Church , Fore Street -all welcome

Lifehouses and Resilient Neighbourhoods is asking the questions of how people can take action in future – “Perhaps there is nothing communities can do about flooding and the heavy rainfall is predicted to get worse? Intense heavy rainfall can cause power cuts even in areas not prone to flooding. Maybe we need to have a Community emergency plan?”

The meeting will concetrate on preparation and investigaing the role of Devon District Council and asking for more preventive measures.
The meeting is for all who are concerned about local flooding. Including power cuts and other impacts due to the effect of intense long periods of heavy rainfall. They will also be addressing rising sea levels and the predicted increase in these crises due to global climate de-stabilisation .

People who were affected by the flooding will be passing on their experiences and there will be discussions on what can be done to help.
The event is organised by South Devon Lifehouse Network -a project of Transition Town Totnes
lifehouse@transitiontowntotnes.org