AHEAD of this week’s budget, it has been good to hear plans to double investment in flood defences.
I will support new flood defences wherever they look viable in Worcester and will press to get them in place as quickly as possible.
The major Hylton Road flood defences, put up after the floods of 2007, protected homes and businesses which would otherwise have been underwater but some areas such as Diglis Avenue and the lower end of Waterworks Road, saw their protection overwhelmed.
It is always a tragedy and nightmare for anyone who is flooded out of their home, but it is particularly frustrating when they have gone to great efforts to make them as flood proof as possible. Sadly, Toronto Close is one area where residents had built their own flood defences in the form of a bund which was not enough to hold back the record levels on the Teme this time around and where plans for additional flood defences had not materialised.
I will do everything I can to support the local residents in getting the new improved defences – high enough to resists a flood substantially higher than this year’s – in place as soon as possible and the announcement of extra funding this week should help remove any obstacles.
Last week I voted to thank all those involved in the task of keeping people safe during the floods and the enormous work of cleaning up afterwards.
From the volunteers and emergency services who have been rescuing people from inaccessible homes or trapped cars and sometimes even from the river itself, to the police and county highways teams and the EA workers who have been working around the clock to keep people safe and the city moving, the council workers who have manned rest stations and organised emergency accommodation, there are so many people deserving of thanks.
Now the Severn has dropped down again from the extraordinary and prolonged highs that we saw in recent weeks, the lessons of these floods must be learned
We must keep working and investing to better protect our city.
