ENVIRONMENT AGENCY AGREES TO INVESTIGATION AFTER ONCE-IN-EIGHTY-YEARS FLOOD

10.14.43am BST (GMT +0100) Thu 28th Jun 2007

In discussions yesterday with local MP Martin Horwood, the Environment Agency has confirmed that it will be launching an investigation into the performance of Cheltenham's flood defences following extreme weather in the last twenty four hours.

"The Agency haven't yet conceded that there was a failure in the system" said Martin "and argued strongly that the situation would have been much worse without the defences at Cox's Meadow. That may well be true and we should be grateful for small mercies. But it's not much consolation to those who expected a brand new scheme to protect their properties and businesses. I'm told we had 71mm of rainfall between midnight and 7am yesterday, much of it within a few hours. That's more than the usual monthly total for June so it's not surprising the system came under pressure. But this was only a once-in-eighty-years flood not the once-in-a-hundred-years event the scheme was supposed to cope with. And if climate change means that kind of event is going to be increasingly frequent, I think there are real questions to be asked about how well it coped and whether more work needs to be done."

"The Environment Agency have confirmed to me that they are now planning an investigation into what happened in Cheltenham and that this will provide a detailed report and analysis within a month. That is a very welcome development."

Martin also echoed Gloucestershire County Council's condemnation today of government cuts in flood defence. "Government cut nearly £15 million out of their flood defence budget nationwide last year. We challenged this at the time and we'll be asking ministers whether now they will finally admit they were wrong and that they should have done the exact opposite. Cutting flood budgets when peoples' homes, property and even their lives are at risk is frankly immoral."