MP's message to floods minister (From Gazette & Herald)

MP's message to floods minister

RYEDALE MP John Greenway has asked Floods Minister Elliot Morley for a meeting to highlight the campaign to save Pickering from flooding.

The MP says he wants to acquaint the Minister with the concerns of residents, and also the strength of feeling that a commitment to provide defences should be honoured.

The meeting would also give him an opportunity to hand over an Evening Press petition, calling for the Environment Agency to be given another two years to come up with acceptable proposals to protect the town.

The agency's £6.7 million flood defence proposals were recently shelved amid concerns over rising costs, and Mr Greenway is concerned that the town will never be protected if it loses its "special case status" in March, as is scheduled. He fears Pickering would not score enough points under a new priority scoring system to merit a scheme.

In his letter to the Minister, the MP says that Pickering was one of eight communities in the Yorkshire region which were fast-tracked for flood schemes in the wake of the disastrous floods of November 2000.

He said the other seven, including one at Malton and Norton, had been built or were in progress. "I should mention that the level of the Derwent these past few days has been such as would have been likely to prompt a flood alert, but for the new defences."

He said the agency had concluded that further work would be needed before it could be in any position to apply to the Government for a grant.

"Whilst this is understandable, I am very concerned that Pickering residents will in the end lose out through no fault of their own, even if a workable solution can be agreed."

The MP, who enclosed copies of Press cuttings to show the extent of media interest in the matter, said he wanted to seek the Minister's agreement for special status to be extended by another two years.

A public meeting to set up a residents' group to fight for flood protection which was scheduled to take place at 6.30pm tonight at Pickering Memorial Hall has been postponed because of bad weather. Organisers hope to reschedule the meeting for Thursday next week, but will confirm this later.

Updated: 12:04 Wednesday, January 28, 2004