Many councils now urge people to protect themselves with FloodSax alternative sandbags FloodSax in action saving a business from torrential floodwater

Why local councils DO NOT provide sandbags and insist home and business owners protect themselves from flooding with anti-flood products like FloodSax alternative sandbags for proven flood protection

Councils nationwide are making it absolutely clear their sandbag policy means they will not provide sandbags when flooding is imminent and it’s up to people to protect themselves to mitigate the devastating impact of flooding.

Several councils are now actively urging people to get FloodSax alternative sandbags for flood mitigation which are far easier to store and deploy than traditional sandbags which are heavy, cumbersome and difficult to use.

Bradford Metropolitan District Council pulls no punches … and many other councils have the same strict policy: “There is no statutory requirement for a Local Authority to provide sandbags, nor to prevent a property from flooding. Many councils do not provide sandbags.”

Here’s what some other councils have to say and why they believe FloodSax sandless sandbags should be used instead of traditional sandbags.

Adur and Worthing Councils in West Sussex say: “The Environment Agency now says that anti-flood devices like FloodSax are the way forward for people to protect their home.”

Braintree District Council in Essex adds: “The council does not have a statutory duty to provide residents with sandbags during a flooding incident. It is the homeowner’s or landlord’s responsibility to protect their property. Flood defence products, e.g. FloodSax or similar products can be purchased at builders’ merchants or DIY stores.”

Derby City Council says: “Sandbags are heavy and time-consuming to put in place. Other products are now available to buy commercially which are both less cumbersome and offer a better standard of protection.”

City and County of Swansea says: “The primary responsibility for the protection of property in the event of flooding lies with the owner or occupier of the property. Be prepared! Owners or occupiers living near watercourses or adjoining land with significant water flowing off it after rain should take appropriate precautions without waiting for a forecast of bad weather. Suitable precautions include getting sandbags (or water-absorbing bags that are easier to store and handle but do the same job) and installation of flood barriers.”

Eden District Council in Cumbria states: “The sole responsibility for protection of private property in the event of a flood lies with individual owners and not the district council or any other agency.”

City of York Council covers an area exceptionally vulnerable to flooding and warns: “It’s the responsibility of every property occupier or owner to protect their property against floodwater wherever it comes from - for example rivers, flash flooding caused by excess rain, etc. It’s not the responsibility of the local authority to provide sandbags for use by individual occupiers of residential or commercial premises.”

Dover District Council adds: “It is the responsibility of property owners to take appropriate action to protect their property from flooding. The best defence is to plan in advance to protect your property during flooding.”

The best place to look for anti-flood devices is on a website run by the charity the National Flood Forum. There it has a list of products in a directory known as Blue Pages http://bluepages.org.uk/

FloodSax alternative sandbags are available at 900 branches of Travis Perkins (product code 868499) and for more outlets please go to http://www.floodsax.co.uk/buy/uk-suppliers/