Shropshire Council will be at Flood and Coast 2026, the UK’s leading conference for flood and coastal risk management, to share how partnership working is helping shape the future of water management across the River Severn catchment.
Taking place in Liverpool from 9 to 11 June, the event, organised by the Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management (CIWEM) brings together local authorities, delivery partners, researchers and policymakers from across the country to focus on turning strategy into action.
At the conference, Shropshire Council will showcase the role of the Marches Forward Partnership (MFP) in supporting the future delivery of the Severn Valley Water Management Scheme (SVWMS) and highlight the success of the River Severn Partnership Advanced Wireless Innovation Region (RSPAWIR), particularly its water‑management use-case projects which are testing how digital and wireless technologies can support better monitoring, smarter decision‑making and more resilient approaches to managing water and flood risk.
Flood and Coast will also provide an opportunity to speak with organisations interested in backing practical, place‑based solutions and to build relationships that could help take proven ideas forward.
Tom Dainty, Shropshire Council deputy Cabinet member with responsibility for flooding, said:-
“Flood and Coast is free for Shropshire Council to attend and is a great opportunity to show how strong partnerships are helping us move from ambition to delivery.
“The MFP has declared its intent to position our region as the Capital of Rural Britain, by adopting a pioneering, collaborative approach to green growth and resilience and supporting delivery of the SVWMS strategy is central to that.
“The £4m DSIT funded innovation programme has spent the last 18 months testing new digital ideas and building practical water management solutions that work for communities. Shropshire Council has a lot to showcase.”
Notes: About the RSPAWIR: The RSPAWIR programme, managed by Shropshire Council and funded by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, is one of 10 UK Innovation Regions. It focuses on accelerating the adoption of wireless-enabled technologies across water management, agri-tech, and public sector services within the River Severn catchment.
About the MFP: Led by Powys County Council and Shropshire Council, the MFP is progressing a green growth programme, central to which are:
- Marches Environmental Investment Platform (MEIP): A concept to attract private capital and direct it to land managers by addressing barriers such as unclear returns, risk quantification and fragmented project pipelines.
- Marches Environmental Delivery Vehicle (EDV): A proposed governance model to bring together communities, buyers, investors, policy makers and delivery partners.
- Severn Valley Water Management Scheme (SVWMS): A pilot project led by the Environment Agency, Natural Resources Wales, Powys and Shropshire Councils to explore large‑scale water infrastructure solutions.
