Learning lessons from the 2007 floods

Yesterday I attended an event in London on flood mitigation and adaptation where we saw case studies from Gloucester and Lincolnshire County Councils and also heard about the role of Regional Flood Defence Committees. However, the keynote speech came from Sir Michael Pitt who was able to give us a taster of his findings in the Pitt Review - Leaning lessons from the 2007 floods -which will be published in the summer. See the interim report here.

What is absolutely clear to us all is that flood risk is increasing and public concern is rising and these issues need to be addressed. The role of local authorities will be crucial in the co-ordinating role in the future and we will have to be prepared for this. There are 72 interim conclusions in the report and emergency planning and the drainage of new developments will be key factors needing to be carefully considered.

Managing flood risk, new building regulations and control of surface water flooding and drainage were all discussed as important areas which will need careful managing in the future. This has certainly come home to us here in Grove recently where even the rainy weekend just over a week ago, brought flooding into homes in North Drive as reported in the press today. See here.

Another keynote speech yesterday was from Sir John Harman, Chairman of the Environment Agency who talked to us about adapting to climate change. Key messages here were that we need to reduce our vulnerability to the current risks and plan and prepare for the future. The Government, the EA and Local Authorities will have key roles to play, but we all have to work together. This all costs money and what we need is for the government to ensure that resources are targetted where it is needed - the EA is currently underfunded and we cannot expect local authorities to pick up the tab - if we are to undertake more duties, then funding has to follow!

Success for Horton Hospital Campaign

Good news for Oxfordshire's Community Hospitals today as the Secretary of State announced that there will be no downgrading of maternity and paediatric services at the Horton Hospital in Banbury. Readers of this blog will remember last year that as a member of the Joint Health Overview and Scrutiny committee at the County Council, I, along with fellow members of the committee sat all day in Cherwell District Council offices giving evidence to this review. The Committee decided to call in this decision to the Secretary of State under our legistlative powers because we felt this was a sufficient change in service delivery which was not acceptable to the public. Well, our verdict has received the backing we require.

The Secretary of State for Health announced today that he has accepted in full the recommendations made by the Independent Reconfiguration Panel (IRP) to reject proposed changes to maternity, paediatric, obstetric services and the Special Care Baby Unit at the Horton Hospital in Banbury. The response states:

“The IRP, like the local NHS, recognises the importance of the Horton Hospital to the local community in Banbury and have taken on board the views of local people. Their report rejects the proposals for changing services at the Horton Hospital, but acknowledges that changes will need to be made in the future. The report makes a number of clear recommendations for both the trust and PCT to take forward together. The SHA, working with the Oxford Radcliffe Hospitals Trust and Oxfordshire PCT, will ensure that the recommendations are fully implemented and will begin working through the implications of the findings of the report.”

The full letter from the Secretary of State to South Central Strategic Health Authority can be downloaded from the SHA website at: http://www.southcentral.nhs.uk/page.php?id=279

So the campaigners have won the day. A good day for democracy and reassuring that common sense has ruled. Sometimes some things are worth all the effort. But we will still keep a watching brief because 'changes need to be made in the future' may mean the decision will come back!

Awards for Volunteers

Tonight I attended a special awards ceremony at the County Council to celebrate some special people. Volunteer workers from five different categories received Oxfordshire Active Citizen Awards in recognition of their outstanding work and dedication to their communities. The awards were presented by the Chairman at her last ceremonial event of the year.

It is always uplifting to attend these ceremonies and see the enormous contribution Oxfordshire people have made and long may they continue to be recognised.

Anyone interested in volunteering contact the OCVA here, who are in touch with a whole host of different organisations to suit everyone's tastes. Young people in particular will find the work of enormous benefit, especially when it comes to providing information on their CV for future employment.

Drainage schemes approved

Today, I spoke at the County Council's Cabinet meeting in support of the drainage schemes which will be required in Grove to help alleviate future flooding. As reported on Sunday, North Drive was flooded due to the heavy rainfall - thanks to Fire & Rescue coming to pump out the water, residents were saved the misery they faced last July. However, I made the point that this is hardly a good use of our resources, when the correct drainage scheme should be put in place now.

I also called for the drainage works necessary for Cane Lane and Vale Avenue to be given urgent consideration and hopefully this will be dealt with as soon as possible. Full details of these have been passed to the County's drainage engineer.

Thames Water needs to play their part too. Any sewer flooding needs to be reported to them immediately so that they can get the works done as soon as possible. As we know, many of these old systems are now outdated and not fit for purpose and this must be sorted in the same way they are supposed to be addressing the water leaks.

Flood Watch

I have spent most of today watching and waiting with local residents as the heavy rainfall overnight threatened to make the Letcombe Brook overflow. So far, fortunately, this has not happened. The Environment Agency were out and about monitoring the brook and they say that the amount of rainfall is still only about half of what it was last July. However, every time it rains now, everyone is on the alert and rightfully concerned.

First thing this morning we had to alert the Fire & Rescue Service to come out to North Drive and to Cane Lane. Homes at the end of North Drive had to be pumped out again to avoid flooding like last July. Fortunately, only the road was flooded in Cane Lane this time. With so many people still displaced from last year, it all seems so worrying.

I went to Kingfishers twice to talk to the residents there, some of whom had not long returned to their homes, and gave them some emergency telephone numbers and for those who were unable to attend last week's flood meeting, some flood protection products advice.

Anyone in an emergency situation should obviously ring 999. However, for help and advice ring the Vale of White Horse District Council 01235 520202 (out of hours emergency number is 01235 524886).

Victory for Jenny

Good news in the County by election for the Grove and Wantage division with Jenny Hannaby topping the poll.

The results are as follows:
Jenny Hannaby (Liberal Democrat) 1901
Bill Melotti (Conservative) 1786
Jean Nunn-Price (Labour) 382

Jenny paid tribute to our former colleague Councillor Jim Moley who worked so hard on behalf of the community and pledged to continue to fight for us at County Hall. Thanks to all our supporters who came out to vote today in the rain. The turnout was around 22% - it is always low for a by-election.

Residents' Flood Meetings

Tonight has been the second of three individual flood meetings which I have helped to arrange for Grove residents affected by last July's floods. Last week, we covered the area by The Green and Denchworth Road. Tonight it was the turn of Vale Avenue and Main Street. The County Council's Drainage Engineer came along and was very helpful in explaining current problems and suggesting some improvements to the drainage system. However, Thames Water have got to play their part in this too.

The Vale's Emergency Planning Officer has been giving useful advice to residents about how best to help protect homes in the future, and I took along a range of literature about this for people to take away. Our Letcombe Brook Project Officer has given us an update about the Letcombe Brook and what is being planned for the future. The Environment Agency has now produced the latest flood report on last July and this is available on the EA website.

The last meeting in Grove will be on Friday, so this will be for the largest area for those affected including Cane Lane, Kingfishers, Sharland Close and we hope this will be the start of some action plans that residents can take forward. Feedback from residents so far has been excellent, so I am pleased that everyone's efforts have paid off.

Drainage in Grove

I am pleased to report that at last some of the drainage issues in Grove are being addressed as a result of problems raised from last July's floods.

We had a very useful first meeting of residents who were flooded last Wednesday evening and a number of practical steps are now being addressed or taken forward.

This drain (left) at the entrance to Denchworth Road has been pooling for years, and I have been pestering Highways for a long, long time to get it dealt with. Last week the work was completed. I shall be monitoring progress to see that the footpath no longer pools and drains properly.

I shall also be following up on a number of other drainage issues in Grove, too numerous to mention here - but be assured that I am on the case and will continue to pester where necessary!

Wantage Cinema

News has been announced that there may still be a future for a cinema in Wantage. The planning application to turn the site of the former Regent Cinema into 8 flats was refused by the Vale Planning Committee and was taken to appeal. However, that appeal has been dismissed by the inspector. Read more here.

The Inspector concluded that the proposal would have had an adverse effect on the diversity of uses in Wantage town centre and is in conflict with the development plan. My former colleague, the late Cllr. Jim Moley would have been delighted with this news and I am pleased that the fight continues for a local cinema.

Sweatbox Campaign

Two weeks ago, along with Jenny Hannaby, I visited the Sweatbox Youth Club in both Grove and Wantage to talk to the young people about what they would like to see in the future. We know that as the King Alfred's 3 to 2 project moves forward, the prospect of east site being sold in the future could lead to over 2,400 youngsters without somewhere safe to go.

The Sweatbox is run by Gary Kingett, the area youth worker for Grove and Wantage, and he works hard to improve and support services for our youngsters. However, what is vitally needed is a brand new state-of-the-art facility to take the club into the 21st century. Ideally, this would be situated between Wantage and Grove and would be a central meeting point for young people to get together from all of the local communities.

The money for this needs to be set aside now by the County Council so that we can start the ball rolling and ensure that the young people can take part in planning for the new project themselves.

Let's push this campaign right into the limelight so that we can make things happen.