WEST Somerset communities at risk of flooding are calling for the district's problems to be recognised at the highest level with a blueprint for action covering the whole county. The newly formed West Somerset Flood Group wants to see an extension to a plan currently being drawn up by Somerset County Council in the wake of last winter's devastating weather that left vast swathes of the Somerset Levels and Moors under water for months. The group's members include eight town and parish councils and the River Aller and Horner Water Community Flood Group, and a total of 18 West Somerset towns and parishes have provided evidence for a new report drawn up by the group with the aim of ensuring the district has a place in any Somerset-wide plan. WSFG members plan to take the document, which provides an overview of local problems and suggestions for action, to Environment Secretary Owen Paterson, the Environment Agency, Somerset County Council, West Somerset Council and the Exmoor National Park Authority to make sure the needs of West Somerset communities are taken into account. Dr Teresa Bridgeman of Old Cleeve Parish Council, who compiled the report, said West Somerset's floods were not the same as on the Levels and different problems called for different solutions. "Everyone will remember the pictures of trees blocking the bridge at Dulverton and of shops and homes under water in Williton in 2012/13, as well as the worries caused by the threat of coastal flooding in 2014," she said. "Less dramatic but just as terrible for those concerned were all the scattered individual homes that were flooded across the area from rivers, streams, ditches and surface water. "These threats haven't gone away. And the Met Office and the Environment Agency predict they will get worse over the next decades." The WSFG report highlights the problems resulting from West Somerset's high hills, high rainfall, rapid rivers and steep roads. And it reveals that around 2,600 homes, 250 businesses and more than 30 public buildings or amenities could be at risk of flooding in the 18 towns and parishes which provided data alone. Dr Bridgeman said flooding in West Somerset tended to happen quickly, the communication network was poor and response times for emergency and other services slow. "We therefore need to take all possible measures to reduce flood-risk before disaster hits." Evidence provided by communities across the district showed the problem of blocked drains and surface water as the most mentioned issue. "The solutions to this are more complicated than one might think, but they are certainly not very expensive," said Dr Bridgeman. "They require proper maintenance budgets at county and district, good co-ordination between the authorities, landowners and community groups, and a more flexible way of working around the restrictions laid down in the Highways Act. "Sometimes just asking a farmer to clear mud or hedge-cuttings promptly can make a big difference. "But what this problem requires most of all is the drive and will among all concerned to deal with numerous small matters that won't make national headlines, that are not politically interesting, that require regular quiet interventions or minor capital works and yet would reduce the risk and worry for many householders." The report has come up with a ten-point 'needs' list that calls for the Environment Agency, Somerset County Council and West Somerset Council to receive adequate funding to allow maintenance and 'small-scale' interventions. It also wants to see procedures in place for the speedy clearance of blocked watercourses. And it wants the focus to be on roads as well as rivers as conduits for flood water into homes, with debris removed from highways on flood risk grounds, rather than simply safety. The report also calls for legislation to allow county highways chiefs to address the wider flood risk on drainage systems and run-off from agricultural land onto roads and into rivers. It says there should be funding for specific and targeted local advice on catchment-sensitive farming and for river catchment analysis and associated risk-reduction measures. And it also wants to see funding solutions that would address West Somerset's low-density population in meeting the criteria and cost benefit ratio required for flood alleviation schemes. Finally, it is calling for clarification of roles within the Somerset Strategic Flood and Water Management Partnership. The core members of the WSFG are Dulverton and Minehead town councils, Old Cleeve, Monksilver, Nettlecombe, Porlock, Stogursey and Williton parish councils and the River Aller and Horner Water Community Flood Group. All but Minehead, Nettlecombe and Monksilver have drawn up their own flood plans. Dr Bridgeman said WSFG members were already actively working to reduce flood risk at local level and had come together because they believed that West Somerset communities should have a voice in the current debate on managing future flood risk. She said members saw a benefit in providing a local forum for discussion and hoped to include experts, local authority officers and local landowners in future activities. "We are not experts on statutory duties, powers and funding, on the workings of local and national government or on climate change. "We do, however, know a lot about the practicalities of working to protect our communities, we talk to both local people and experts and we are aware of areas where current structures of responsibility and funding may not be working smoothly. "And we also have ideas for future action against flooding." The WSFG has acknowledged the help its members have already received from the local authorities and agencies it hopes will read the report. It says the recently issued draft Somerset Levels and Flood Action Plan demonstrates how much can be achieved by collaborative planning. And it believes a countywide flood action plan could build on this approach, although input from partners at both local and national level would be essential. Williton Parish Council chairman Cllr Robert McDonald said many parishes and towns were playing their part and were prepared to help the authorities in any way they could. "But now we need them to listen to what we have to say and to plan how they can best help us. "We need action not words."
Ten-point plan to cope with flooding
Thursday 3rd July 2014 10:00 pm
Share
Subscribe newsletter
Subscribe to our email and get updates right in your inbox.
Comments
To leave a comment you need to create an account. |