Kingston Council is enhancing its civil contingency plans to better prepare for extreme weather events, following a challenging summer. The Audit, Governance and Standards Committee reviewed the council's corporate risk register on Thursday, September 3, 2026, which detailed ongoing efforts to bolster community resilience.
The council is working with a range of partners to improve its response to events such as extreme heat, cold, localised surface flooding, and high winds. These anticipated increases in extreme weather events are linked to climate change.
Key enhancements to the civil contingency plans include updating the corporate business continuity plan, which is very nearly signed off. Following this, the council will focus on refreshing service-level business continuity plans before next summer. A comprehensive review of lessons learned from the extreme weather events of the past summer is also underway.
This review involves partners such as blue light services, the voluntary community sector, the Environment Agency, and the Met Office, all collaborating through the Kingston Borough Resilience Forum. Their collective aim is to understand the wider system impacts and inform future preparedness measures for next summer.
Councillor Sachin Tulyani raised questions about the wording of the 'Financial Sustainability' risk. He felt the description of the cause – unsustainable and unfunded growth and increase in demand
– did not accurately reflect the situation, suggesting it implied the council was creating unsustainable plans rather than acknowledging that growth assumptions might not materialise as expected. Officers agreed to review the presentation of this risk offline to ensure it is updated in an appropriate manner.
Beyond bolstering its own plans, the council is also focusing on proactive communications to communities to foster their own resilience. This includes encouraging residents and businesses to subscribe to weather alerts and register with utility providers if they are vulnerable or provide critical services. The council is developing these strategies to enhance community resilience, recognising that while the organisation can implement measures, community preparedness is also crucial.
The council's efforts are detailed in the public reports pack for the Audit, Governance and Standards Committee meeting, available at Public reports pack Thursday 03 September 2026.
