Anne McIntosh

Conservative Party | Vale of York

The flood failings we can't afford

Yorkshire Post

29 October 2007

Since the scenes of chaos witnessed in the news following the floods this summer, the urgent need for adequate flood defences in flood risk areas has drifted off the national news agenda.

However, investment in adequate flood protection hit the headlines again in the last few weeks following Alistair Darling's Pre-Budget report. His announcement that the Government would spend £800bn by 2010/11 was actually nothing new, as Hilary Benn had already pledged this in July.

The Association of British Insurers has criticised the sum as insufficient to tackle the urgent need to protect vulnerable homes in flood risk areas. They have consistently called for £1bn a year to protect flood risk areas. But the Government has still failed to grasp the importance of improving Britain's defences in the wake of the devastating floods across Yorkshire and more widely across the UK.

Along with many other places, this summer saw the dramatic consequences of flooding in Pickering, in North Yorkshire, and I am extremely concerned that the town is not adequately protected from flooding.

Pickering has experienced flooding seven times in the last eight years and yet a scheme to protect the town has not yet gone forward; there are conflicting reports as to the reasons for this. There was a less expensive but equally important scheme at Mill Lane in Pickering that has also not proceeded, which would have allowed the water to escape quickly, and not back up into Pickering town.

More than 50 homes and 12 businesses were affected by the floods this summer, and, despite considerable pressure on the Government and Environment Agency, the town remains vulnerable. I do not feel reassured that enough is being done to address this problem.

A major problem in Filey this summer was surface water flooding. There have been concerns that the drainage system was poorly maintained which exacerbated the problem.

Despite the fact that surface water and storm drainage were massive contributors to the summer floods, Barbara Young, chief executive at the Environment Agency, admitted that the issue of responsibility for surface water flooding remains "very, very unclear".

While rivers and the coastline are the responsibility of the Environment Agency, drainage is in the hands of local authorities, and water on main roads is the remit of the Highways Agency. Private water companies are also responsible for sewer flooding. Thus, no single body is charged with preventing and managing flooding, even though drains, sewers and rivers all contribute to flood risks. This must be addressed urgently.

While adequate investment in areas such as Pickering remains very much the local focus, nationally, as Shadow Floods Minister, I believe there are a number of issues that need to be tackled.

For instance, it is unclear who has overall responsibility during the floods crisis. At the time of the floods in the summer, the Chief Fire Officers' Association attacked the number of bodies involved as "institutional confusion" and suggested this hampered the clean-up operation. We need clearer lines of responsibility and more joined up thinking.

I want to carry the debate forward, to help Pickering and other areas that were affected this summer – Sheffield, Rotherham, Chesterfield, Doncaster, Hull and Filey, among the others in Yorkshire. The report from the Conservative Quality of Life policy group included some key proposals to tackle the issues of flooding, surface water run-off and drainage. The solution is not just about spending money; it's about an altogether smarter approach.

I am particularly interested in the recommendation to create a single body responsible for all water matters – a National Water Association – to allow one umbrella organisation overall responsibility for water issues.

Also addressed in the Quality of Life report is the proposal for a new consultation framework, with the aim of discouraging development that fails to take adequate account of water.

Currently, water companies do not have any right to be consulted on a planning application, which means they are often not involved in a potential development, and whether such a development would be inappropriate because of inadequate drainage or because of being built on a flood plain.

I want to press the case for the Government to consult local water companies before planning applications are approved, to ensure that there is sufficient sewerage and water access.

Another aspect of the report worth exploring further is the proposal for a national sewerage and waste water strategy, with 25 year sewerage plans from water companies.

This problem will not go away. As climate change causes more volatile weather patterns and the potential for intense storms in the future, the Government must act now.

The fact that the additional investment is not being met in full until 2011 shows that the Government has not grasped the seriousness of this situation.

The Yorkshire and Humber region is historically under-funded in terms of flood protection and flood defences, and yet has the second highest risk of flooding in the country. This mismatch has got to be rectified.