EMERGENCY PLANNING

The Council has been working along with the PSNI and other organisations to ensure that it can play its part effectively in the event of an emergency within its area.

In June 2007 when areas of N Ireland were badly affected by torrential rain and serious flooding, Ards Borough Council, along with the NIFRS, Rivers Agency and Roads Service successfully put their emergency plans in to action in the Borough to help citizens that were adversely affected by the floods.

Scenarios such as fires that result in evacuations, serious gas leaks as well as flooding may require a response from the Council. We have prepared a number of our community centres and leisure centres to respond to the call to be set up as a community reception centre should an evacuation nearby be carried out by the emergency services, and are working closely with the South Eastern Health & Social Services Trust to ensure that displaced ratepayers can be safely accommodated in such centres and have their needs met.

We have also taken steps to ensure that the Council can be contacted 24hrs a day 7 days a week by he emergency services to allow our plans to be enacted when ever it is required. (The contact number is held by the emergency services). The Council is also working very closely with its neighbouring Local Authorities should issues that effect more than one Council occur.

For further information on our emergency planning arrangements, please contact Graeme Bannister on 028 9182 4058 or download a copy of the Plan here.