Most emergencies can be dealt with by the emergency services – police, fire and rescue and ambulance.
However, some emergencies are so large, have such an impact or are so long-running that other organisations such as Stratford-on-Avon District Council need to be involved in the response; for example, widespread flooding or flash flooding, major transport accidents, animal health diseases and major fires.
These major emergencies are rare, but it is important that we are prepared for them. The council's response to such events tries to sure that the disruption caused to residents would be kept to a minimum if the worst ever happened. Some of our main roles include:
- Maintain essential services as much as possible.
- Arranging accommodation for people made temporarily homeless by an emergency.
- Providing information and advice to the public.
- Assisting other organisations in their response.
The council's work in this area is governed by legislation – the Civil Contingencies Act 2004 (CCA). An emergency as defined by the CCA is:
“An event or situation which threatens serious damage to human welfare in a place in the UK, the environment of a place in the UK, or war or terrorism which threatens serious damage to the security of the UK. “
The CCA requires Stratford-on-Avon District Council to undertake seven duties. These are:
- Assess risk
- Create emergency plans
- Communicate with the public
- Co-operate with other responding organisations
- Share information with other agencies
- Make our own business continuity arrangements
- Promote business continuity to local businesses
Our emergency planning pages give you more information about the work we do and how you might prepare yourself for emergencies.
Please also see the guidance document Preparing for Emergencies in Warwickshire.
This guidance document outlines some of the risks identified in Warwickshire and provides practical advise on how to minimalise the impact and likelihood of these risks affecting you or your family.
Updated September 2023 - Review due September 2024
