News Flood talks for MP
Goole MP Ian Cawsey recently met Peter Holmes from the Environment Agency (EA) to discuss the response to recent flooding and the EA's plans for flood defences in future.
Mr Cawsey said: "It seems to me that a lot of the recent localised flooding was caused not so much by a lack of drainage but as much by the failure of these systems to do the job that they are supposed to do. This, I think, is because there is not enough co-ordination between the agencies and not enough routine maintenance to keep them clear.
"It is complicated, as drainage and water management is the responsibility of several bodies, the Environment Agency, the Council, the Water Company, the Internal Drainage Board and in some cases individual landowners. What I want to see is some co-ordination between these bodies so that the whole system is kept maintained, not just parts of it."
He added: "I was grateful for the opportunity to discuss this with Peter, as I think the Environment Agency has a big role to help achieve this and I have encouraged them to bring the partners together to plan for the extreme weather it now seems clear we are going to experience more often in the future.
"I also took the opportunity to discuss local concerns about the Agency's consultation on the future management of flood risks from the river Aire. There are concerns that the Agency will have a priority of protecting large towns and cities and that this may put some of our smaller communities at risk.
"Peter wanted to assure me that this was not their intention and that they wanted defences along the Aire that would give good protection to all the towns and villages in the area. He also said that proposals based on the consultation would be drawn up and be available for inspection next year. I told him we would be looking at these very carefully indeed!
"There are real concerns in the area and I was grateful to be able to raise them face to face and I will continue to ensure that all local views and issues are considered as the Agency works towards what we want to be comprehensive defences for the future."
Pictured above is Peter Holmes with MP Ian Cawsey. (16-08-27 SU)
... and for Andrew Percy
Concerns over the controversial Environment Agency (EA) plans to increase flooding in the lower Aire catchment continue to grow in the week that the EA announces that it has completed its three-month consultation and has received more than 45 comments on the draft plan.
Officers at the EA have drawn up a draft Catchment Flood Management Plan (CFMP) for the river Aire, from the river's source near Malham in the Yorkshire Dales to Goole in the east. Residents living in the river catchment area were urged to have their say on the draft plan, which envisages increasing flooding locally for the benefit of towns and cities upstream.
"We would assure communities along the river that it is not our intention to increase the risk of flooding to people, property and infrastructure," said EA project manager Neil Ryan this week.
"We must find the best solution and most economic way of managing flood risk, and maintain our current defences to bring the greatest economic benefit for people in the area.
"We will consider the catchment as a whole to see how we can manage floodwater along the river with the smallest possible impact. This may involve holding floodwater on the natural floodplain where there are no properties, so that flood risk can be reduced in our downstream towns and villages."
Concerns were raised during consultation on the CFMP that plans for floodwater storage in the downstream reaches of the Aire catchment would increase flooding locally in order to benefit towns and cities upstream. People have asked why the EA does not dredge the river Aire so that it can take higher flows, which would prevent or reduce flooding.
"Dredging of the river would not prevent flooding from happening," added Mr Ryan.
"The volumes of water that are present during a flood in the lower Aire are far greater than any increase in channel capacity that could be achieved by river dredging."
But concerns are still growing locally over the plan as Airmyn Parish Council becomes the latest parish council to reject the EA's proposals.
An action group was recently formed from members of various Parish Councils and local drainage boards in the area, with the aim of fighting the proposal. Representatives have been invited to attend a meeting of Selby District Council's scrutiny committee on August 29, a meeting that the EA looks likely to attend.
Andrew Percy, vice-chairman of the action group and an Airmyn parish councillor, said: "We are delighted that Selby District Council has invited us to attend, as many of the villages in North Yorkshire are also affected. We shall be attending the meeting to express our concerns at the lack of detail in the plan.
"The confusion over the plan has been added to this week by conflicting statements by the EA who, on the one hand say it will not increase the flooding risk to homes, but go on to say that it wants to make greater use of the river's floodplains. The catchment plan specifically states that the proposal is to 'increase flooding' in the lower Aire catchment area.
"Until the Environment Agency gives a clear and unambiguous statement of its intentions, we must continue to oppose the plans in the strongest terms. That is why I am delighted my own parish council in Airmyn, at its meeting last week, added its voice to the fight by formally agreeing to write to the EA objecting to the plan," Mr Percy added.
Published on 16th August 2007 in News.
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