FARMERS are aiming to head off Environment Agency plans which could lead
to thousands of acres of East Riding farmland reverting to a swamp.
The Environment Agency is looking at using low-lying areas of land close
to the River Hull, including land round Leven, Brandesburton and North
Frodingham, and Driffield, to protect tens of thousands of people living
down river in Hull.
But landowners have claimed that it makes no sense to give up land after
centuries of effort to drain it. They say plans to create a spillway and
put three pumping stations out of action could prove counter-productive,
leading to widespread flooding.
Martin Voase, who has farmed at High Baswick all his life, said the
proposals had already blighted property values.
He added: "The Environment Agency are talking of 3,000 acres but the
effect will be much wider because they are going to bring the water
table so much higher and it will affect an awful lot more land.
"We cannot afford to lose this amount of land from the county or the
country."
Plans to install a spillway from the River Hull so when the water got to
a certain level it would inundate Leven Carrs were "pointless" according
to campaigners, as it would destroy the drainage system's ability to
take water away and create more flooding.
Decommissioning pumping stations would only make the problem worse,
protesters have claimed.
Residents and farmers have now formed an action group called
Brandesburton and North Frodingham Flood Action Group
(BNFFAG) involving local politicians.
A meeting has been called at Beeford Community Centre at 7.30pm on
November 24 and as many people as possible are being urged to attend.
Council leader Stephen Parnaby said: "Local people were devastated when
they heard the Environment Agency's plans. The agency has simply not
taken into consideration the impact this is going to have on the area.
"This is rich farming land and it is just inconceivable that large areas
are due to be flooded and people's land lost without any talk of
compensation or thought for future demands.
"We need to put forward a balanced argument to the Environment Agency
and let them see exactly what their plans mean to people and their
families"
One farmer who would be directly affected, Edward Sharp, who farms near
Leven, said surrounding countryside would lose its ability to absorb
flood water temporarily if the plans went ahead.
He claimed that places such as Hull and Beverley should be "made aware
of the likely sacrifice they will be forced to accommodate".
He added: "In Holderness the whole area hundreds of years ago was a vast
swamp – it would revert to that. The Environment Agency's own map shows
the potential flood areas – and it is literally about 100 square miles."
Coun Jonathan Owen added: "The Government's national strategy 'Making
Space for Water' from which the Environment Agency has formulated its
proposals pays scant regard to the effect on peoples' lives in terms of
property and businesses.
"We need to ensure that the concerns of all those affected in the East
Riding are clearly heard and brought to the attention of those concerned
at all levels of government."
The Environment Agency said they hoped to work with local communities on
a way forward.
