COTSWOLDS MP GEOFFREY CLIFTON-BROWN HOLDS ANNUAL PUBLIC FLOOD MEETINGS... Geoffrey Clifton-Brown, Member of Parliament for The Cotswolds, was pleased to be able to convene his promised annual public flood meetings in Cirencester and Moreton-in-Marsh on Friday 9th January 2015, at which there teams of representatives present from Thames Water, the Environment Agency, Cotswold District Council, Gloucestershire County Council, Town Councils and Parish Councils. Both meetings were well attended and provided an invaluable opportunity for members of the public to question all the relevant agencies about what progress they have made since my last public meeting, and to ensure they cannot shift responsibility to a different agency. At the meeting in Cirencester the main concern was about the capability of the sewer in the town. These concerns exist because of the high levels of the River Churn at the present time, and will be compounded even further with the prospect of a new housing development consisting of 2,350 dwellings. Thames Water confirmed at the meeting on Friday that there would need to be a new sewer in the event of so many new properties being built in the area, as the current sewer would not be able to cope. If and when that application comes forward the developers will have to be expected to pay for a new sewer. During the meeting in Moreton-in-Marsh it became evident that there was slight frustration that the Moreton Flood Alleviation Scheme was taking so long to progress and in particular that negotiations with landowners seemed to be taking longer than expected. However I was pleased to hear Cotswold District Council say that they expected to be on site by the summer. Additionally residents from Croft Holm rightly raised the continuing problem of the sewerage settlement land very near their houses with one of the residents claiming that their pigeons had died from campylobacter bacteria. Mr Clifton-Brown warned both the Environment Agency and Thames Water that this was a public health issue and environmental issue with raw sewerage discharging into the River Evenlode. Geoffrey Clifton-Brown asked them to come up with a long term solution. Depending on the election result in May, Mr Clifton-Brown will hold a further similar meeting in November where he expects positive negotiations to have taken place. Commenting Geoffrey Clifton-Brown MP said “These meetings, involving so many people from so many agencies are enormously time consuming to arrange. The Gloucestershire Flood Action Group have done a lot of valuable work but there remain serious concerns in South Cerney, Siddington, Cirencester and Moreton-in-Marsh. “However the two meetings were extremely valuable opportunity for members of the public to hear what all the agencies have been doing and to be able to question them all in one room without them being able to shift responsibility from one to the other. I hope to be able to continue these meetings on an annual basis.” Below: Geoffrey Clifton-Brown MP chairing his public flood meetings in Cirencester and Moreton-in-Marsh
Posted on: Mon, 12 Jan 2015 22:45:30 +0000
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