Chesterfield MP calls on Prime Minister to honour flooding commitments to Derbyshire

Toby Perkins says the goverment has turned down a £20m funding application made by Derbyshire County Council to repair damage caused to roads, drains and bridges in the floods last autumn.

Leader of Derbyshire County Council, Coun Barry Lewis, has also accused the government of ‘turning its back’ on the county and is among several local authority leaders demanding easier access to emergency funds.

Last year’s floods caused serious damage to more than 125 miles of the county’s roads, 25 bridges and blocked thousands of gulleys and drains.

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The county council was asked to provide a financial estimate of the flood damage, but the government is no longer going to provide the funding for repairs.

Labour MP Mr Perkins has now been approached by the Conservative-run council to ask for his support in pressing the government to provide the funding needed.

He said: “Boris Johnson made a big show of coming to Matlock just after the flooding during the election campaign and he pledged that Derbyshire residents would receive his full support. Now he needs to honour the commitments he has made to Derbyshire.”

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Mr Perkins has written to the Prime Minister calling on the government to provide the £20m needed for the repairs across Derbyshire.

He added: “We are already seeing statutory services pushed to the brink in Derbyshire, with cuts to care for older people, children with special educational needs not getting the support they need and social services struggling. The county council simply do not have the resources to complete these repairs without impacting other services further, and so the government must provide the funding.”

Coun Lewis told the Guardian: "We are not very happy. You can't give local authorities the clear message you are going to support them and then turn your back on them."

Mr Johnson told Parliament last week that the government was working ‘flat out’ to help people.

And Environment Minister George Eustice said £2.6bn was being invested in flood defences to protect homes.

“Climate change is making the UK warmer and wetter with more frequent extreme weather events,” he said.