Emergency Planning Unit

The Emergency Planning Unit ensures that we can respond effectively to any major emergency that might happen in the borough. By working with the emergency services and other partners, we create, maintain and regularly review a variety of plans to keep the borough safe.

What we do

The Emergency Planning team manages a group of officers who are on-call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, ready to respond to an emergency. In the event of an emergency, the Council will:

• Send a Local Authority Liaison Officer (LALO) to the scene to help the emergency services deal with the incident
• Make arrangements for a rest centre to be opened if evacuation is required
• Provide information and advice to those affected
• Manage the recovery of services after an emergency to help things return to normal

Contact us

If there is an emergency that could cause harm to people or property, telephone the emergency services on 999 immediately.

The Emergency Planning Unit is available Monday to Friday from 8am to 5.30pm. Contact us by email at emergency.planning@richmond.gov.uk.

For out of hours enquiries, please telephone our 24 hour Emergency Control on 020 8891 7999.

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Feedback

We take feedback from the public seriously and welcome any comments or suggestions. We are interested in hearing your views on our service, the website, how you think we could improve, or requests for further information.

We aim to acknowledge all correspondence within two working days. We will investigate any complaints and provide a full response within 10 days.

Send your feedback to emergency.planning@richmond.gov.uk.

Local Authority Liaison Officer (LALO)

The emergency services (fire, police and ambulance) may request support during a major incident. Local Authority Liaison Officers (LALOs) can attend the scene to liaise with the emergency services.

As the senior Council representative at an emergency scene, the LALO responds to requests for assistance and provides information about available resources. This can include arranging road closures, clearing debris such as fallen trees, setting up rest centres, supporting vulnerable residents, and organising temporary accommodation.

For most major incidents, we cannot provide temporary accommodation for private residents or repair damage to property. If you have insurance, you may be able to claim for accommodation or damage. Residents can request a reference number (sometimes called a CAD number) from the emergency services or a LALO to support an insurance claim.