Labour candidate for the new Constituency of Bridgwater which includes Burnham, North Petherton and surrounding villages & towns, Leigh Redman, has pledged to continue to fight for those communities at risk from flooding. Leigh commented:“It is 10 years since nearly all of Moorland and Fordgate were flooded out. The residents affected were then placed in temporary accommodation for at least 10 months. If the people of the new Bridgwater Constituency place their trust in me on 4th July I will continue to fight for proper investment in flood protection measures so those communities do not have to experience such an appalling upheaval again. Tory cuts came just as flooding was being exacerbated by climate change, with austerity leading to massive reductions in maintenance on the rivers and drains and leaving our communities at risk.”
Leigh continued “Despite David Cameron’s claim that that ‘whatever needed to be spent would be spent’ to prevent flooding, there have been continuing cuts to the Environment Agency (EA) budget. This very nearly led to these communities being inundated again last winter, which was only averted by the heroic last-minute pumping work undertaken by the EA. But this vital service is being forced to operate on a shoe string, and is only receiving a fraction of the budget they request each year. Only 31% of the required budget has been allocated for this year.That means they can’t do vital maintenance to our local waterways, like dredging, that minimises flooding risks over the long term. Clearly the current under investment is a huge worry and if elected I will work with local residents and lobby hard to ensure the appropriate levels of investment are made to protect the local communities at risk.”
