Calls for action to tackle environmental causes of Derbyshire floods

Following a week of high winds and torrential rain, communities including Matlock, Belper and Bakewell woke up to waterlogged roads on Monday morning (February 21).

As footage of these flooded towns went viral on social media, scores of people blamed the loss of trees and natural floodplains for the problem, with comparisons being made to the floods of 2019, in which former Derbyshire High Sheriff Annie Hall tragically drowned.

Commenting on Twitter, Ben Goldsmith said: “If you strip the hills of nature, drain the wetlands, fill in the ponds and turn all the little streams into dead straight drainage ditches then you get greater flooding downstream.

“The science is simple.

“Nature recovery and flood/ drought mitigation are one and the same thing.”

Steve Jones added: “The catchments are denuded and need to be re-forested with drained wetlands restored.”

Derbyshire County Council’s only Green Party member Councillor Gez Kinsella agreed: “I think the natural defences that we have are being eroded.”

He added that he understood there was a ‘dilemma’ between protecting green spaces and meeting housing needs, commenting that local authorities are under a lot of pressure to meet Government housing targets resulting in ‘riskier’ developments being built.

He said more needed to be done to build on brownfield instead of greenfield sites.

Coun Kinsella commented: “It will cost more, but what’s more important – to protect the green areas or the continuing profits of some of these developers?”

He said the Government needed to do more to address climate change and the Green Party was calling for the establishment of a climate emergency response group to help prepare the country for ‘extreme weather’.

Derbyshire County Council Leader Councillor Barry Lewis said the authority had been working tirelessly with partners including the emergency services, district councils and utility companies following the floods.

“This has included managing our road network to avoid risk to travellers, clearing debris from carriageways, providing sandbags, supporting evacuation of people at risk and ensuring early warning to premises likely to be impacted,” he continued.

“Now the flood waters are receding, we are clearing and re-opening roads.

“And we are launching our Flooding Hardship Fund for affected residents and businesses.”

On Monday, the county’s Tory leader tweeted Prime Minister Boris Johnson appealing for the funding promised by the Government following the 2019 floods.

Coun Lewis stated: “Unfortunately flooding following adverse weather has become a regular occurrence over recent years.

“Following the 2019 flooding we have engaged closely with the Environment Agency and other risk management agencies such as water authorities to prioritise our flood risk management schemes, which then get put forward for bidding into a £5.2bn DEFRA fund for flood and coastal erosion risk management schemes.”

“We have to stress that engineering solutions are not straightforward – and we have not yet been granted the funds needed to deliver effective preventative measures.”

He said despite the lack of additional funds, the council would continue to invest in local measures to help improve drainage, but concluded: “While we really sympathise with the businesses and residents affected, the council is not sure that there is much more we could have done without significant investment support from Government.”

A £20,000 pot is available for those affected by the floods through the council’s Derbyshire Flooding Hardship Fund, but this could be extended if necessary.

Residents who experienced water entering their homes, can access financial help of up to £104 via a fast track application process, while businesses of 50 employees or fewer whose premises were flooded will be eligible to apply for a one-off payment of £500.

To apply for funding or for more information, visit www.derbyshire.gov.uk/flooding

MORE: https://www.derbyshiretimes.co.uk/news/pictures-and-video-show-matlock-town-centre-flooded-3578032