Asked by: Brendan Clarke-Smith (Conservative - Bassetlaw)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent discussions his Department has had with the Environment Agency on trends in the level of (a) dredging and (b) desilting as a means of flood prevention.
Answered by Robbie Moore - Shadow Minister (Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Ministers and Defra officials regularly meet with the Environment Agency to discuss flood and water management issues, including dredging.
The Environment Agency assesses each situation individually and dredge when it is the right solution, and it provides long-term value for money. Understanding where it will, and will not, reduce flood risk is key.
Where there is evidence that dredging will reduce flood risk to local properties or agricultural land without increasing flooding downstream, it meets government criteria, and is cost effective, the Environment Agency will do it.
Dredging can contribute to reducing flooding in some locations, but in others dredging would be an extremely inefficient and ineffective way to manage flood risk, as the natural processes in many rivers can cause the silt to return and accumulate in the same places very quickly. We also know from historic records and modelling that dredging in some locations can increase erosion and flood risk for communities downstream.
In extreme flooding events, the relatively small increases in width and depth achievable by dredging the channel do not provide anywhere near enough capacity to contain the excess flood water, since the channel may already be full of water, and therefore does not prevent flooding.
Any structures encroaching in the river such as bridges, weirs and natural features need to be considered, as these could be damaged or may be pinch points with hard foundations which can make dredging ineffective. Deepening can in some instances also cause destabilising of natural riverbanks leading to soil erosion and damage to riverside flood defences.
Asked by: Brendan Clarke-Smith (Conservative - Bassetlaw)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of plastic pyrolysis plants on the environment in (a) residential and (b) other areas.
Answered by Robbie Moore - Shadow Minister (Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Plastic pyrolysis plants in England will be regulated under the Environmental Permitting Regulations, either by the Environment Agency or the relevant local authority, depending on the size and configuration of the plant.
Before issuing an environmental permit, the EA will carry out an environmental risk assessment of the process, including emissions to air, odour and noise. This will be done irrespective of the location of the plant, but a plant in a residential area may require more sensitive receptors to be assessed and tighter controls compared to one in a less densely populated area.
The EA will not issue a permit if the proposed plant could have a significant impact on the environment, including if it could have an unacceptable impact on air quality or cause pollution via odour or noise. If a permit is issued, the EA will carry out regular audits and inspections of the plant to ensure compliance.
The EA is not responsible for deciding where plastic pyrolysis plants should be located, whether they are the right solution for dealing with waste plastics, or for any vehicle movements to and from the plants. Instead, such matters are considered under planning by the relevant authority.
If the local authority is the regulator of the plant, the EA will have no control over the permitting or regulatory process, but it will be able to provide advice and guidance via its Local Authority Unit Team if the local authority requests it. Local authorities would be expected to have similar permitting and regulatory processes to those of the EA.
Asked by: Brendan Clarke-Smith (Conservative - Bassetlaw)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will take steps to support the Environment Agency to produce a flood prevention business plan for Bassetlaw constituency.
Answered by Robbie Moore - Shadow Minister (Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Under the Flood and Water Management Act (2010) Nottinghamshire County Council (as the designated Lead Local Flood Authority (LLFA) for Bassetlaw District Council are required to produce a Local Flood Risk Management Strategy (LFRMS).
This includes a comprehensive Action Plan detailing the activities that will be undertaken to manage flood risk in the county. Following events such as Storm Babet and Henk, the LLFA is required to undertake investigations (referred to as Flood and Water Management Act (2010) Section 19 Investigations) into the causes and consequences of flooding and these should then be used to update the Nottinghamshire LFRMS with agreed actions which need to be undertaken to effectively manage the flood risk.
The Environment Agency is working closely with the County Council and other Risk Management Authority’s to ensure that the evidence of flooding which we have recently experienced is fully reflected in the Plan and the action Plan is revised accordingly. This, coupled with the National 6-Year Capital Programme of works approved by the Regional Flood and Coastal Committee and the Flood Response Planning of the Local Resilience Forum is the framework we use to deliver more resilient communities, as is required by the National Flood Risk Management Strategy.
Asked by: Brendan Clarke-Smith (Conservative - Bassetlaw)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what remediation and flood prevention work his Department has carried out in (a) Worksop, (b) Retford and (c) the district of Bassetlaw in each of the last three years.
Answered by Robbie Moore - Shadow Minister (Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Environment Agency are committed to better protecting Bassetlaw and the area remains a high priority for them.
Environment Agency representatives will be meeting with the MP on 19 January 2024 to discuss flooding in his constituency and community drop-in events for constituents in Retford and Worksop are being planned for February. Updates will be sent to the MP once venues and dates have been decided.
Worksop
Since 2021 The Environment Agency have spent a total of £468,000 in Worksop on remediation and flood prevention work.
£257,000 has been spent on routine & intermittent maintenance, consisting of grass cutting, weed cutting & spraying, maintenance of outfalls & penstocks, clearance of debris screens, tree and bush clearance and desilting at Ryton Place and Bracebridge to improve conveyance.
Between 2023-2027, there is no current planned investment in capital schemes in Worksop itself.
Retford
Since 2021 The Environment Agency have spent a total of £603,000 in Retford on remediation and flood prevention work.
£368,000 has been spent on routine & intermittent maintenance in Retford consisting of grass cutting, weed cutting & spraying, maintenance of outfalls & penstocks, clearance of debris screens, tree and bush clearance and Intermittent Works to improve Retford Beck Debris Screen.
Between 2023-2027, £3.2m of Government Investment is currently planned for Retford.
Bassetlaw
Since 2021 The Environment Agency have spent a total of £1.6m in Bassetlaw (including the above figures) not including the routine & intermittent maintenance figures above.
Between 2023-2027, £13m of Government Investment is planned to be invested in schemes in Bassetlaw.
Asked by: Brendan Clarke-Smith (Conservative - Bassetlaw)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she has made an assessment of the environmental impact of pulverised fuel ash extraction.
Answered by Rebecca Pow
The Environment Agency regulates the excavation of previously landfilled wastes under waste controls (under an environmental permit). Site operators need to apply for a permit to cover the correct treatment, recovery or disposal of any excavated material. Excavating pulverised fuel ash may be a change of land use that may require planning controls. This would be for the local planning authority. An application to the local planning authority may require an environmental impact assessment.
Asked by: Brendan Clarke-Smith (Conservative - Bassetlaw)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department is taking steps to (a) mitigate the costs to (i) local councils and (ii) landowners of internal drainage boards and (b) ensure (A) Bassetlaw and (B) surrounding areas are protected from flooding.
Answered by Rebecca Pow
The Government is investing a record £5.2 billion between 2021 to 2027, in around 2,000 flood defences to better protect communities across England. Within the Bassetlaw area, from 2021/22 to the end of 2022/23 the Environment Agency will have spent over £2m of Government Grant in Aid. The Environment Agency works with internal drainage boards (IDBs), including the IDB facing the Bassetlaw District, to help ensure the Environment Agency spends both its flood asset maintenance funding allocation and the precept (raised from IDBs) in areas that provide the greatest flood risk benefit.
IDBs are independent locally funded and operated, statutory public bodies. They are mainly funded by the beneficiaries of their work receiving drainage rates from farmers/landowners and special levies from local authorities.
The Government recognises the ongoing pressure the public sector is experiencing due to high energy prices and has extended energy support for a further 12 months through the Energy Bill Discount Scheme (EBDS) which will succeed the current Energy Bill Relief Scheme (EBRS) on 1st April and for which IDBs and all other public bodies are eligible.
The Government has also written to Ofgem regarding unfair practice in the energy sector, including increases in standing charges, and Ofgem will continue to monitor this situation.
Defra will continue to work with the Environment Agency, IDBs and across Government to identify how collectively we can minimise the risks and continue to provide protection and resilience to our communities through this period.
Asked by: Brendan Clarke-Smith (Conservative - Bassetlaw)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to improve flood defences in and around Worksop to prevent a repeat of the November 2019 floods.
Answered by Rebecca Pow
Worksop was significantly affected by flooding in the November 2019 floods. In total 128 residential properties and 180 businesses, a mix of small to large, including the bus depot and main Post Office were unfortunately flooded. Since then the Environment Agency has met with residents and has been working with professional partners to ensure Worksop is more resilient to any future floods.
On our ability to respond to flooding, the Environment Agency has met with Nottinghamshire County Council, Bassetlaw District Council and the Canal and Rivers Trust to review our capability within Worksop and the surrounding area. This review will ensure better coordination of all flood assets on the ground to maximise the effectiveness of our collective incident response.
To improve flood defences, since November 2019 the Environment Agency has reviewed the maintenance regime to the River Ryton at Worksop and associated flood risk assets, and undertaken routine works in the area. The Environment Agency has also undertaken enhanced maintenance in the Worksop area, including silt removal, tree maintenance and blockage removal.
The Environment Agency is also currently producing a River Ryton Catchment Flood Model that will:
The development of any capital intervention will need to demonstrate it is technically feasible, is economically viable and can be financed in line with partnership funding rules.
The Environment Agency expects the modelling to begin delivering outputs by the end of 2020 which will then be used to develop the above flood risk improvements. We will continue to work with our partners to ensure Worksop is resilient in the future.
On 14 July, the Government published a long-term Policy Statement setting out our plan to create a nation more resilient to future flood and coastal erosion risk. The Policy Statement outlines five ambitious policies and over 40 supporting actions?which will?accelerate progress to?better protect and better prepare the country against flooding and coastal erosion in the face of more frequent extreme weather as a result of climate change. Alongside the Policy Statement, the Secretary of State has laid before Parliament the Environment Agency’s updated National Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk Management Strategy for England which will provide direction to the work of risk management authorities on the ground and includes strategic objectives to improve the resilience of the nation through to 2100. Taken together, this means that our country will be significantly more resilient to flooding and coastal erosion.