09:10 - 08 September 2007
When the rains came on June 25, thousands of homes were damaged
and the cost has now spiralled into the millions.
Despite numerous Government grants and flood relief, one underlying question
remains - what exactly went wrong?
Now, seven elected members of East Riding Council have finally been charged with
the task of finding out.
The East
Riding Floods Review Panel has set out its stall and will be conducting a
complete review into the events following the catastrophic flooding.
In a proposal, ratified by the council's overview management committee at County
Hall in Beverley yesterday, the review panel's objectives are outlined.
It states its task is to identify a list of improvements to infrastructure, with
appropriate costings, that if undertaken will reduce the scale of the impact of
flooding should it be repeated.
Secondly, it will identify any changes to local plans and procedures to reflect
"lessons learned" from the flooding.
Finally, and probably most importantly, it will identify who is and who should
be responsible for what infrastructure nationally and locally.
By this, the panel means sluice gates, drains, gullies, ditches, dykes, pumps
and pumping stations.
This is, it says, to ensure proper maintenance and to enable swift resolution
should problems occur.
And it says it will communicate the information to communities to enable quick
resolution of problems by enabling that community to identify the relevant
responsible authority.
The review panel will comprise six councillors and a chairman and its finished
report is to be presented to the full council next June. However, a draft
version is expected to be available in early May.
The timescale has been defended, with claims it is necessary to show the review
is not a "knee-jerk" reaction, but a "comprehensive" investigation.
Andrew Milner, the council's assistant chief executive for communications, said:
"This is about the East Riding and the residents who live within the authority.
"The May timescale may seem a long way off and, although there is a need to
carry this out as soon as possible, how long it takes is not the most important
point.
"What is important is the quality of the review and the quality of its findings
- that is how it should be judged."
Councillor Laurie Cross, chairman of the panel, said it was important to get the
report completed correctly, rather than quickly.
"Due to the extent of the flooding and the geographical make-up of the East
Riding, the review process will be a long process.
"We are aware of the fact people in the region want to get some answers, but we
are determined to get this right.
"It does not want to be a knee-jerk reaction with irrelevant findings. It will
be comprehensive and all inclusive.
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