Last month, apprentice George Hollyhead attended CIWEM’s Flood & Coast 2025 Conference at the Telford International Centre. As his first major industry event, it was an eye-opening and inspiring experience that offered valuable context for his work and development.
The day began with an opening speech, followed by a session on investing for resilience and growth, delivered by Alastair Chisholm (CIWEM) and Alan Lovell (Environment Agency). The presentation explored future strategies for flood asset management and the UK government’s goals for improving property-level protection – a theme that resonated with George’s current projects.
George particularly enjoyed a talk by Sun Yan Evans (Mott MacDonald) on Enhancing Flood Risk Management and Water Resources: Learning from China. The session introduced the concept of sponge cities, using Wuhan as a case study, which sparked ideas about how similar approaches could be adopted in the UK.
He also attended a panel discussion on shared delivery challenges, chaired by CIWEM and featuring speakers from the Environment Agency, Wessex Water, the Climate Change Committee, Flood Re, and East Suffolk Council. The discussion highlighted the need for stronger collaboration and better communication across the sector – a message George found both timely and motivating.
In the afternoon, George took part in two interactive workshops:
- Making the Invisible Visible, which focused on the challenges of assessing groundwater flood risk in the absence of reliable data.
- Growth in River-Based Projects, a collaborative session addressing industry opportunities and barriers.
The day concluded with a Chairs’ Forum, summarising key insights across all sessions. George noted that common challenges, from rivers to coastal and groundwater management, underscored the interconnected nature of water resilience issues.
Reflecting on the day, George said: “Attending Flood & Coast gave me a clearer understanding of how my role fits into the wider industry. It has encouraged me to think more broadly and creatively about the challenges we face and the solutions we can explore.”
RAB deliver a wide range of flood risk management, engineering, and resilience services for both public and private sector organisations. More information is available here on our website, or you can get in touch for an informal discussion on your specific project by email to enquiries@rabconsultants.co.uk or call our head office in Lichfield on 0330 223 6475.