River Severn: Floods

(asked on 4th December 2020) - View Source

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that the implementation of flood defences down the River Severn will not cause further flooding; and what recent discussions he has had with local farmers on that matter.


Answered by
Rebecca Pow Portrait
Rebecca Pow
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
This question was answered on 14th December 2020

The Environment Agency (EA), along with other members of the River Severn partnership, is investigating options to reduce overall flood risk and benefit communities along the River Severn, now and from the increasing risk of climate change.

The EA is also considering new approaches for managing the effects of too much and too little water, for example with the Severn Valley Water Management scheme, and land use practice in the upper catchment.

The National Farmers Union (NFU) is one of the partners in the River Severn Partnership and has represented farmers in a number of meetings where projects have been discussed. On 1 December, the joint chairs of the River Severn Partnership (EA and Shropshire Council) met the NFU to hear members’ views and discuss the early options appraisal work for the Severn Valley Water Management Scheme and to discuss plans for future engagement and consultation with landowners.

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