The response to people's homes and businesses being flooded is "often chaotic", a county MP has said hitting out at the Government.
North Shropshire MP Helen Morgan has called for better co-ordination in response for people who have been flooded after learning the experiences of some her constituents in the region.
Shrewsbury MP, Julia Buckley and Mrs Morgan both spoke in a debate over planning and developer responsibilities with regards to flooding.
North Shropshire MP Helen Morgan has called for better co-ordination in response for people who have been flooded after learning the experiences of some her constituents in the region.
Shrewsbury MP, Julia Buckley and Mrs Morgan both spoke in a debate over planning and developer responsibilities with regards to flooding.
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00As a member for Shrewsbury, flooding is always a priority for me, my residents, businesses and local services as our historic town is encircled by the beautiful yet powerful River Severn.
00:12Some of my residents have been flooded over 20 times since 1998 and our active Shrewsbury Business Flood Action Group are providing valuable support for them who often struggle to find affordable insurance to cope.
00:24But in terms of funding, I would like to thank DEFRA for investing over £16 million this financial year into projects that protect communities like mine all along the catchment of the River Severn.
00:36As the newly elected Chair of the River Severn Partnership, we are delighted to see a suite of demonstrator projects that will develop nature-based solutions upstream for longer-term resilience.
00:46And DEFRA are demonstrating their understanding and commitment to the scale of this issue and they are rising to the challenge.
00:52In terms of data sets, which I know the Honourable Gentleman is very concerned about, DEFRA has already this January published new online data on the Government website which show that updated risk of flood from the combined sources of rivers, seas and surface water.
01:06So for the first time surface water flooding is incorporated into that new national flood risk assessment.
01:12And this will help individual residents and businesses whether the risk is coming downstream or up through their drain gullies or sometimes from both.
01:22DEFRA have then incorporated this data set of March of this year to update the flood zone planning maps that are often used by our local authority planning developers and planning officers.
01:33So we've now got accurate risk assessments for all development sites, something that I know environmental campaigners are really keen to hear.
01:40Finally, we have a government that understands we need to stop building on areas at risk of flooding and we have delivered the data, the mapping and the intelligence to inform those local decisions to uphold our important approach.
01:54And finally, in terms of local agencies and their responsibilities, I'm pleased to inform the Honourable Member that through the Environment Audit Committee I've secured an inquiry that examines flood preparedness and response and particularly looks at the fragmentation of responsibilities across so many agencies.
02:10What impact does this have on budget and how we can best coordinate?
02:13I'm hoping we can provide some helpful recommendations to the Minister, maybe for some efficiencies about how we can work better together towards prevention rather than cure.
02:22A bit like the demonstrator projects along the River Severn.
02:25Once again, Shrewsbury leading the way.
02:27I want to agree with him that the response when people are flooded either by surface or river water is often chaotic.
02:34So, for example, in Gabon, in my constituency, it's not clear who's going to close the road off.
02:39So then vehicles drive through, there's a big bow wave and the flooding in those shops and homes becomes much worse.
02:44So I fully endorse his point about better coordination of response for people who've been flooded.
02:49I want to bring up the point of insurance because insurance is hard to get.
02:52Homes built since 2009 aren't covered by Flood Re's remit and its remit ends in 2030, leaving people stuck in potentially unsellable and mortgageable homes.
03:02And I know the Minister's looking at Flood Re and its remit, but I'd be grateful if she could give us a bit of an update on that.
03:07I should have declared at the start that I'm the chair of the Flooded Communities, APPG, so I do have an interest in this.
03:15After people have been flooded, it's often hard to get help.
03:18The Frequently Flooded Criteria don't catch all those homes in rural communities because the density isn't there.
03:24I know she's looking at that and I would be grateful if she could give us an update on that as well.
03:29Farms are hit really badly and they are storing an enormous amount of water upstream.
03:33So will she be working with her colleagues in the department to look at how the Sustainable Farming Incentive
03:37and other similar types of plan might be used to help people store water upstream and prevent flooding downstream?
03:43And finally, the Planning and Infrastructure Bill, it's not really taking the opportunity to deal with this once-in-a-generation moment
03:50and opportunity to deal with the increased likelihood of flooding.
03:54So we've talked about statutory consultees in planning as the water companies, implementing Schedule 3 so that studs have statutory guidance
04:05and are properly maintained.
04:07And finally, that houses aren't built in places that are inappropriate.
04:10The current guidelines don't achieve those objectives and I think she should be hopefully working with her colleagues
04:15to make those requirements statutory.