Miss Anne McIntosh, MP for Thirsk, Malton and Filey has expressed her disappointment that Pickering may again be at risk of flooding following recent heavy rain.
Miss McIntosh said: “ While I am pleased that the Environment Agency has implemented part of the Slowing the Flow Project, we are still waiting on the bunds or mini- dams, which are essential to the scheme, to be constructed .
“ We are also still waiting for the revised guidance on what constitutes a reservoir .
“ I would particularly like to thank the Environment Agency for the investment they have made together with the Forestry Commission and others with the Slowing the Flow scheme, upstream from Pickering, which appears to have saved Pickering and Sinnington from the worst types of floods experienced before.
“ I would also like to thank Pickering Town Council for making themselves available to the local community and for monitoring the potential floods.
“ It looks like the drainage systems in certain areas were overwhelmed by the recent rain, yet the Government has delayed the adoption of Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems until 2014, which will be four years after the enabling legislation, the Flood and Water Management Act, has been adopted .
“ Sir Michael Pitt concluded that more dredging and maintenance of water courses need to be done and seen to be done .
“I believe a new flood levy on household insurance would be inappropriate, but that a percentage of the current insurance premium tax which we all pay on household contents and building insurance policies be placed into a fund to insure the most vulnerable properties.
“ The bottom line is we must stop building in inappropriate areas such as functional flood plains.
“ Clearly the deluge we have experienced over recent days is of biblical proportions but I do believe we could have done more between flood events as I have outlined .”
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Source: thirskandmaltonconservatives, November 30, 2012; Image: fileymercury