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

To ask Her Majesty's Government what actions they have taken since the floods which took place in Earby on Boxing Day 2015, through the Environment Agency or otherwise, to reduce the probability of households in Earby being flooded, and to increase resilience against flooding in that town.

Since the floods of Boxing Day 2015 the Environment Agency (EA) has worked in partnership with Pendle Borough Council, Lancashire County Council and Yorkshire Water to develop schemes to reduce flood risk in Earby.

The EA removed 60 tonnes of gravel and debris from Earby Beck in September 2016 and carried out further channel maintenance in 2017, in addition to its routine maintenance activities on the beck.

The EA is carrying out detailed hydraulic modelling of Earby Beck and its tributaries to identify technically and economically viable options to reduce flood risk from all sources in and around Earby. The EA has secured £100,000 of Flood Risk Management Grant in Aid to fund this study and it is scheduled to be completed in April 2018. The outcomes of this study will also be used to update the EA’s flood map, improve its flood warning service and provide better data to inform planning decisions.

The EA has also developed a programme of works to repair the Victoria Clough culvert and restore it to its original capacity. An improved trash screen will also be installed at its inlet. These works are planned to be completed in 2018, subject to full funding being secured, and will reduce the risk of flooding to 91 properties.

The EA has recruited four new community flood wardens to help coordinate the community response during future flooding and to support the development of the community flood plan led by Pendle Borough Council.