Wanted:Czar for rural flood action
Wanted:Czar for rural flood action
By FW reporters
THE government is under renewed pressure to address the problem of flooding in rural areas.
Peter Faulkner, president of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, has called for the urgent appointment of a "flood czar" to co-ordinate the fight against flooding. Existing policy, where flood management is the responsibility of the Environment Agency, water companies, local authorities and more than 200 drainage boards, is inefficient and wastes resources, he said.
In an interview with FARMERS WEEKLY, Mr Faulkner added: "Wherever we go we tend to come across a bureaucracy which soaks up money. We have masses of people dabbling around the edges and all costing money. I dont think that is the best way forward. It would like to see somebody appointed to coordinate an overall response – preferably somebody appointed tomorrow."
Experts have warned that flooding – especially in urban areas – could become a fact of life for many parts of the country. But Mr Faulkner said it was wrong to view flooding purely as an urban issue. It was increasingly likely that farmers would be compensated to flood fields and store water to reduce the risk of flooding in towns and cities, he said.
A recent RICS report found that 1.7m homes, 130,000 commercial properties worth £200bn and 13m hectares (32m acres) of farmland worth £7bn are at risk. Mr Faulkner said: "No one expects answers overnight. But people need to see that someone is working on a plan. People know what the problem is but they need to see that somebody is working on finding the solution."
Water companies believe a national forum should be set up to make flood prevention more central to the planning process. The forum would also devise strategies to reduce the use of fertilisers and pesticides, and apply tighter standards on pollution caused by overstocking.
Pollution from pesticides and chemicals costs more than £100 million a year, claims the leader of a group representing Britains water companies. Farmers will have a key role to play in a radical overhaul of Britains water supply, said Pamela Taylor, chief executive of Water UK.
"This bill has been paid by water customers on behalf of farmers and their customers – both in the UK and abroad, and this needs to stop," she said. "Our customers and investors will no longer tolerate having to absorb the environmental costs caused by the policies and behaviour of other industries."
But landowners said part of the problem was the water companies themselves. Tanya Olmeda-Hodge, head of environment at the Country Land and Business Association, said: "More than 50% of phosphorus in watercourses comes from the water companies themselves, from sewage treatment works, and road run-off." *