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Manor Farm, Hempholme, Driffield YO25 8NB
3rd July, 2009
Dear Councillor,
Environment Agency’s River Hull Flood Risk Management Strategy
I am writing to you and all of the East Riding of Yorkshire Councillors with regard to the above scheme as we are desperate to get our message across to the residents of East Yorkshire.
At first sight the proposals appear to affect only rural areas north of Beverley and Hull. In the longer term they have the capacity to increase the incidence of rainwater and secondary flooding in urban areas in the whole of the River Hull Valley, inevitably resulting in damage to property, infrastructure and health. Secondary flooding is just as damaging to property and as disruptive to family life as the water that entered homes two years ago. As more instances occur property will be devalued and insurance premiums will rise.
We dispute the EA claim that permanently flooding land will save houses in Hull and the East Riding and think these plans will, in fact, make flooding much more likely. We believe that the EA’s strategy would be detrimental to the whole area and will cause thousands of acres of land, urban as well as rural, to be permanently waterlogged. There will be no further capacity for storage of water in times of heavy rainfall and with the result that more houses and businesses in the whole area will be susceptible to flood damage than is necessary.
The River Hull did not cause any flooding in the city of Hull in summer 2007. The river system works in conjunction with an extensive network of drains which have to pass through Beverley and Hull on their route to the sea. This system has been developed over 800 years and has helped to create the landscape that we love and know so well. This is what the EA is planning to abandon. We believe that maintaining the existing drainage system is the most cost effective way to keep Hull, Beverley and, in fact, all the other settlements in the River Hull Valley dry.
The River Hull Flood Action Group was set up as a result of the public’s concerns over the EA’s proposals to flood 3,000 acres of land and decommission drainage pumping stations north of Hull. Our group has often been quoted in the press, on television and radio but on every occasion our message has been misinterpreted as just a group of farmers who don’t want their land to be flooded. This is quite the opposite of our intended message, as we suggest that well drained farmland not only produces much needed food but acts as a “sponge” during high rainfall events and is able to absorb and hold huge volumes of potential flood water. If land is waterlogged it can provide neither of these functions.
The EA proposes to hold public consultations later in the year with regards to their proposals and we would urge you to become involved in the consultations as this is an issue which could potentially affect hundreds of residents in Beverley.
We would like to meet and discuss the proposals with Councillors. We can be contacted at the above address or by e-mail - byas@karoo.co.uk
You may think that the EA’s proposals will not affect your constituents, but we urge you to take a close look at the proposals before you make up your mind.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Yours sincerely,
Deborah Merchant
River Hull Flood Action Group
Prevention is better than cure – act now
