MP out of his depth on flood issue, says council

A cabinet member of Herefordshire Council has criticised local MP Paul Keetch for “not working with the council to try to achieve what is best for the people of Ross”.
 
Cllr Brian Wilcox, cabinet member for highways and transportation, says it had an agreement with the MP to work together to put the case for the much-needed Ross flood alleviation scheme to the DEFRA minister for climate change and the environment Ian Pearson. The council suggested a meeting at which the MP and the council would present the evidence for the scheme so it could be fully considered. But last week the MP went ahead with the meeting without telling the council and failed to put the case for the scheme.

“Paul Keetch is out of his depth on this issue”, said Cllr Wilcox. “The council is amazed that he went ahead with the meeting and deliberately excluded the council. This meant the DEFRA minister did not receive a unified approach, nor the evidence and persuasive arguments that the council has carefully prepared with the help of local people and local businesses. This is an opportunity that Paul Keetch has wasted by playing party politics.
 
“In June this year Paul Keetch announced to the press that he had secured assurances from the Environment Agency that Ross will get its scheme although maybe not until 2008. He said this was a success and he tried to take the credit.
 
“It is clear that he sneaked ahead with the meeting we had requested on his own in the hope that he could announce that he personally had saved the Ross scheme. Because he failed to do this he is now claiming that the scheme could have gone ahead in 2004 if it was not for the council”.

The council explains that it consulted on a plan with local people and put forward a flood alleviation scheme with a cost of £5.1 million, and obtained approval from DEFRA in November 2004 after gaining planning permission in July 2004. However, there was never a possibility that the work could have been done in 2004. DEFRA has an approval system that encourages long term planning and therefore the work was targeted for 2006. The scheme meets the national standards for flood protection, again a requirement of DEFRA for funding, and environmental surveys also meant the scheme could not begin until 2006. The value of the project meant the council had to comply with stringent European tendering rules. The price of the land the council would have to acquire for the project went up, there was a need for compulsory purchase orders following objections from some local landowners, and because construction costs are currently increasing faster than general inflation, the 2006 cost was over £6 million.
 
“However”, said Councillor Wilcox, “the scheme as it stands is approved by DEFRA, but now the funding has been withdrawn. I shall continue to lobby for funding and will remain in close touch with DEFRA and the Environment Agency”.