South Swindon Parish Council hosted a large-scale emergency planning exercise at Broadgreen Community Centre.
The exercise helped to test how spontaneous volunteers would be registered and deployed in the event of a real emergency.
The exercise was organised by Swindon Borough Council, Wiltshire Council, and the Wiltshire & Swindon Local Resilience Forum, with South Swindon Parish Council hosting.
The purpose of the day was to simulate how local authorities and partner organisations would safely coordinate members of the public who step forward to help during unexpected events such as severe weather, flooding or other major disruption.
Parish Council Chair Cllr Neil Hopkins praised all those involved, from the emergency services to the volunteers who kindly gave up their time to assist in this exercise.
“These exercises help us to maintain readiness in case of a serious incident and help us to ensure that we give an appropriate response when required," he said.
During the afternoon session, volunteers took part in a live simulation involving the registration, briefing, and deployment of spontaneous volunteers.
Participants were organised into groups and assigned practical community tasks linked to the Brighter Broadgreen project, including leaflet distribution, litter picking, painting, and gardening.
While the tasks supported genuine local improvements in Broadgreen, the primary aim was to test emergency procedures and strengthen coordination processes that would be used during a real incident.
South Swindon Parish Councillors Neil Hopkins and John Firman took part in the exercise alongside community volunteers, helping test the systems and observe the volunteer management process in action.
The event brought together council teams and voluntary organisations including REACT, Rotary, Serve On, WiLSAR and the British Red Cross, demonstrating strong partnership working across Swindon and Wiltshire.
South Swindon Parish Council was pleased to host the exercise at Broadgreen Community Centre, reinforcing its role as a key community hub and supporting efforts to build local resilience.
For more information about the Parish Council and their initiatives, people can visit www.southswindon-pc.gov.uk
The exercise was organised by Swindon Borough Council, Wiltshire Council, and the Wiltshire & Swindon Local Resilience Forum, with South Swindon Parish Council hosting.
The purpose of the day was to simulate how local authorities and partner organisations would safely coordinate members of the public who step forward to help during unexpected events such as severe weather, flooding or other major disruption.
Parish Council Chair Cllr Neil Hopkins praised all those involved, from the emergency services to the volunteers who kindly gave up their time to assist in this exercise.
“These exercises help us to maintain readiness in case of a serious incident and help us to ensure that we give an appropriate response when required," he said.
During the afternoon session, volunteers took part in a live simulation involving the registration, briefing, and deployment of spontaneous volunteers.
Participants were organised into groups and assigned practical community tasks linked to the Brighter Broadgreen project, including leaflet distribution, litter picking, painting, and gardening.
While the tasks supported genuine local improvements in Broadgreen, the primary aim was to test emergency procedures and strengthen coordination processes that would be used during a real incident.
South Swindon Parish Councillors Neil Hopkins and John Firman took part in the exercise alongside community volunteers, helping test the systems and observe the volunteer management process in action.
The event brought together council teams and voluntary organisations including REACT, Rotary, Serve On, WiLSAR and the British Red Cross, demonstrating strong partnership working across Swindon and Wiltshire.
South Swindon Parish Council was pleased to host the exercise at Broadgreen Community Centre, reinforcing its role as a key community hub and supporting efforts to build local resilience.
For more information about the Parish Council and their initiatives, people can visit www.southswindon-pc.gov.uk
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