Environment Agency holds successful Pickering flood meeting
|
Author: |
Francesca Glyn-Jones |
|
Date published: |
2-Aug-2007 |
|
Keywords: |
flooding, North Yorkshire, Sinnington |
Around 90 people attended a drop-in session organised by the Environment Agency for residents affected by the recent flooding in Pickering.
The drop-in was held yesterday, and the aim was to give residents an opportunity to learn more about the flooding, and for officers to gather information about the affected areas.
Residents’ questions included concerns about the lack of flood defences in Pickering, and Sinnington.
Area flood risk manager Thomasin Turner said: “It was a busy day and it gave us the opportunity to answer many people’s concerns. We collected dozens of photographs of the flooding and many people filled out our questionnaires.
“This information will be used to build up a better picture of the flooding in specific locations, and although we cannot stop the problem altogether, we are continually adding to our understanding of flooding in Pickering which helps us to make improvements for people in the town.”
Staff also met with protesters who were calling for a flood defence scheme and explained that demand for schemes across the country exceeded Environment Agency resources.
Thomasin said: “There is a huge demand to build flood defences across the country. In Yorkshire and Humber there are almost 550,000 people living in areas at risk of flooding, and although our funding has increased in recent years the demand is still greater than the money available to build schemes. This means we have to prioritise which defences get built first, and unfortunately there are still other places with a higher priority score than Pickering."
Staff are looking at other ways to help reduce the impact of flooding on the community, including plans to set up a flood warden scheme in the town.
The scheme would be run by the community, and supported by the Environment Agency which would liaise with volunteer wardens during a flood and help them to warn residents.
Similar schemes have been set up elsewhere in Yorkshire, and staff have also been talking to residents from Sinnington, near Pickering who have also shown interest in a similar initiative.
On June 25, a total of 81 millimetres of rain fell on Pickering Beck. The average rainfall in June for Yorkshire and the Humber is 60-70 millimetres.