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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of levels of flood preparedness in communities along the (a) Middle Brook, (b) Bessy Brook and (c) Douglas rivers in Bolton West constituency.

Flood Alerts and Flood Warnings are issued by the Environment Agency (EA) to warn residents that flood is possible, and then expected, to ensure that communities are prepared take action to reduce impacts to homes and properties. 315 properties are registered to receive the Flood Warnings in the stated areas.

For the Bessy Brook area, flood Alerts and one Flood Warning were issued during the heavy rainfall over New Year. The Flood warning warned 34 properties.

The EA and Bolton Council engage with communities at risk, including a resident’s group at Bessy Brook, to raise awareness of flood risk and support their preparedness, signposting The Flood Hub website for information.

Operational teams from the EA and Bolton council attend areas before rain is expected to clear debris from screens and grids, which minimises flooding impacts to over 220 properties.