Syston Community Flood Group Clears Brook to Reduce Flood Risk

Refusing to wait passively for the inevitable return of destructive winter storms, grassroots volunteers in Leicestershire took direct action to defend their community’s infrastructure. Taking advantage of low summer water levels, 19 members of the Syston Community Flood Group manually extracted an estimated two or three tonnes of hardened silt from the concrete-bottomed channel of Syston Brook. Over the years, agricultural runoff and urban debris settled into the brook, turning into an absolutely solid mass of silt.

Syston Community Flood Group Clears Concrete Channel

In a day of action, volunteers donned wellies and waded into Syston Brook to clear accumulated sediment ahead of the winter months. Armed with shovels, the team manually broke up the compacted sediment, which was subsequently removed by the Environment Agency. Volunteers also removed vegetation from the edge of the watercourse that could have otherwise ended up in the channel.

In total, 20 brown bins filled with vegetation were handed to Charnwood Borough Council to compost. A spokesperson for Charnwood Borough Council said: We were happy to support this valuable community work in Syston and we are pleased that it was a success. Well done to everyone who was involved.

“It was a lot of hard work but we had fun, it was great. It’s been quite fortunate this year because we didn’t have any floods in January, thank goodness, for the first time in a couple of years. It was one of those jobs we’d have liked to have got done last year, but there was more water and a lot more stuff upstream that needed to be shifted first. It’s trying to get to the bottom of it so that next year, crossed fingers, it won’t be so bad.”

Janette Hick, Volunteer, via BBC Radio Leicester

The Trauma of Repeated Inundation in Leicestershire

For residents and business owners in Syston, the threat of flooding is a recurring concern. The town suffered devastating winter floods in January 2024 and in 2025. Attempting to clear the brook during the wet season is ineffective, as there is more water and more debris upstream that needs to be shifted first.

Hick urged residents not to grow complacent during drier months, reminding neighbors that Mother Nature won’t go away. She advised residents to clean their gullies and drains during autumn when leaves begin to drop, and to consider flood barriers, sandbags, and tarpaulins for their properties. Hick said: “We need people to not be complacent. Mother Nature won’t go away. Have a look what you’ve got on your doorstep. If you just think we got away with it this year, we’ll probably get away with it again – that’s not the case. If the deluge comes down, we could be caught out.”

Environment Agency Involvement and Future Plans

The Environment Agency works closely with local groups, and we value the input of those who help look after their watercourses. We removed 380 tonnes of silt from the brook in early 2025, and plan to return later this year to complete further works. We routinely inspect the channel and check for blockages that may cause a flood risk. A spokesperson

The proactive labor in Syston serves as a community-led effort to reduce flood risk. As the Environment Agency processes the extracted material and plans its return to complete further works later in the year, the residents have worked to prepare for the return of rain.