A Wokingham politician has called on the government to ‘think very hard’ about where houses are built after recent flooding across Berkshire.
Prue Bray, the deputy leader of Wokingham Borough Council, who is also a national figure inside the Liberal Democrats, spoke out about flooding.
Speaking on BBC Politics Live on Sunday, she said that tackling flooding should be a collaboration between local government and national government.
She said: “Part of the problem is how the Environment Agency has been defunded over the years – so they just haven’t got the capacity to do all the things that need to be done.
Councillor Bray mentioned an independent review of the way floods are managed, conducted by Sir Michael Pitt after the waters rose in 2007, and a National Flood Emergency Framework and National Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk Management Strategy were created.
She said: “I remember going back to the ‘Pitt Review’ – 2011 I think that was – where we had all the terrible flooding and ‘something must be done’ and a lot of reports came out and the money just hasn’t followed it to do the things that need to be done.
“It is very difficult. I think Climate Change is going to make it worse.
“We really have to think very hard about where we’re allowing building and development and what measures we put in place when we do do new development to try and mitigate some of the flooding that already takes place.
“We can’t cure it. I think we’re going to have to learn how to live with it better.”
Another Wokingham councillor considered that the reason the River Thames and its tributaries like the River Loddon flood in Wokingham is because flood gates have been installed in Maidenhead.
But when the gates are closed to protect Maidenhead, Wokingham floods instead.
Wokingham Conservative Leader said: “Yet again we see flooding from the Loddon causing road closures in the Borough, Mill Lane is closed as normal.
“I am concerned that if the 3,900 additional houses are built in Hall Farm Arborfield the major access route via the Lower Earley way is vulnerable to disruption from flooding of Loddon Bridge roundabout and surrounding roads, which happens regularly.
“Despite the reliance on this route for access there seems to be no plan to improve the roundabout, this is likely to cause serious problems in the future.”
