Sopley villagers rage at Environment Agency in meeting over flood measures

ANGRY villagers have demanded action over worsening flooding which is “putting lives at risk” during a flood prevention meeting hosted by the Environment Agency.

The meeting at Sopley Parish Hall erupted into anger after residents claimed local landowners, the district council, the highways authority and the Environment Agency were failing to work together to tackle flooding in the village.

Steve Malpass of the Environment Agency explained that residents could apply for property resilience grants worth up to £9,500 for measures such as raising the height of sockets and appliances, fitting plastic skirting boards and installing flood-proof doors.

However, one Sopley resident claimed flooding had significantly worsened as a result of the Environment Agency’s 2008 decision to stop cutting weed in the nearby Avon River.

He said: “Avon River has been neglected – the river has silted up, the flow has slowed. You have penny pinched and stopped cutting the weed which allows the river to drain.”

Demanding a multi-agency meeting to address the problem, the resident continued: “We know nothing will get done – this is all just words. The way things are going, we are going to end up with a huge public health issue. Brackish waters will bring mosquitos and with global warming we will have malaria.”

Another resident said while it was “all very well” to offer home protection grants – but the community wanted action to tackle the root of the problem.

She continued: “This is great, we can apply for money to protect our properties but we want to stop the flooding. If we cannot leave our homes, we are trapped.”

One resident suggested the problems were exacerbated by a lack of ditch maintenance: “Nobody knows who looks after the verges, who looks after the river and who is responsible for stopping our house from flooding – nobody can actually give anybody an answer.

“Streams are so overgrown it physically can’t take the amount of water.”

Another claimed there had been a number of breaches of the river which had washed the banks away: “Where the levels have gone up, the banks have washed away – is it landowner or the water company that is responsible?

“No one will admit whose fault it is – no one is taking responsibility.”

Mr Malpass said that the initial responsibility for any water course was the landowner who should undertake bank repairs.

However, residents argued that the Environment Agency should take the lead in bringing other organisations and landowners together to work on a solution.

“You should take the lead to help these people and bring all the interested parties together,” said one, adding: “You should orchestrate not delegate to all these people who don’t know anything about it.

“All we hear is ‘it’s not my responsibility’.”

Pledging to take the issues raised back to the Environment Agency, Mr Malpass said he had not attended the meeting to talk about wider issues and could provide information only on the flood resilience measures.

In response to a suggestion from Mr Malpass that residents should get their MP involved, one resident stormed: “Our politician says it’s not a governmental issue – we know it is but he won’t listen and he has a 26,000 majority.”

Residents claimed a large cause of the problems was a lack of maintenance of the river and drainage over 15 years.

Another villager said the flooding situation had now escalated to become a “threat to life” issue. She said: “When we are in winter and we can’t get across the causeway, we can’t get down Derritt Lane, we can’t get onto the bridge.

“It’s pouring down with rain, we’ve got teenagers driving their cars, the roundabout is flooded, stranded cars everywhere, and there are kids who can’t go to school.

“There is a real threat to life and it is damaging mental health – it’s the impact on our daily life.”

Sopley parish councillor Barry McDonnell urged Mr Malpass to use his influence to organise a meeting involving the Highways Authority. He said: “In my personal view we are escalating the issues to Highways and you get a fault report number and it is a black hole, with little response, just referral as it’s somebody else’s problem.

“We need the relevant agencies to actively pursue the resolution, as it directly impacts the roads which are breaking up, being under water for so long.”

He added: “The best you get from them is ‘we’ve put it on our maintenance programme’ or they say ‘it’s not our problem, it’s the landowner’.

“Why has a shovel not been put in the ground to clear a ditch for six/nine months?” Cllr McDonnell asked. “No one can tell us anything, we cannot get meaningful responses from Highways despite chasing for over six months.”

Mr Malpass said: “I will take the issues of maintenance and organising another session back to the Environment Agency.”

It is hoped that a further multi-agency meeting will be arranged for Sopley residents.