Ed Vaizey

A village in my constituency, East Hanney, started to get to grips with its flooding problem this week end.  It was badly hit last summer, and since then has been regularly flooded when it rains heavily.  The local flood group, which convened itself shortly after last summer,got permission from the Environment Agency to weed the local brook.  About 30 volunteers showed up, and by the end of Saturday the level of the brook had fallen by about a foot.  It may well have fallen further today, as the volunteers were planning a second go.  Rural villages are going to have to look after themselves, because the EA is essentially broke and has to concentrate on urban areas.  What they need is the EA to allow them to balance the need for flood protection against environmental concerns, so that they can clear brooks of weeds.  And also what the Pitt Review has recommended, namely a detailed map showing who owns, and is responsible for, what - drainage ditches, water courses, brooks and so on.

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