Having left the Conservative Party Conference early, I was able to visit those affected by the current flooding in Brampton earlier today.
Along with Sadia Moeed from the Environment Agency I spoke with impacted residents on Centenary Way and on Hansell Road where two households have had to move out having been flooded, with other households having suffered manageable water ingress.
A number of areas where multi-agency coordination could be improved were identified and residents were understandably angry that they felt advice and response had come too late, particularly the lack of physical support.
One 81 year-old resident had had to fill and carry his own sandbags to prevent his house from flooding after the sandbags were only delivered to the end of the road. We can and should do better in supporting those who would benefit from assistance from the authorities.
Once the current situation is resolved I will be writing to the Flooding Minister Emma Hardy MP with feedback as to how the Government’s proposed Flood Resilience Taskforce could provide the coordination to execute pre-prepared flood mitigation strategies and remove some of the current confusion and uncertainty around stakeholder responsibility.
