Cheshire floods: Council leader urges Government to help residents

In a letter to George Eustice, Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Cllr Louise Gittins stresses that action is needed to protect the borough from future flooding.

Northwich, Winsford, Acton Bridge and Weaverham were all hit by heavy rain brought by Storm Christoph last week.

More than 100 residents were evacuated from flooded homes across Cheshire West, while 39 businesses were affected in Northwich alone, and Cllr Gittins is demanding action to stop the same devastation happening again.

In the letter, Cllr Gittins says: "We are now supporting the process of clean-up and recovery, and to learn lessons from this distressing situation.

"The investment in flood defences for Northwich has proved invaluable. The defences worked to hold back the river but came within just 20cm of being over-topped.

Picture by Matt Sayle

"We will need to review quickly whether further investment may be required, as climate change disrupts the models that were previously used to assess the frequency of adverse weather events.

"We will identify the infrastructure needs, and I urge the government and United Utilities to make the necessary investment to protect our communities."

The letter goes on to urge Government to provide financial support for CWAC and other councils affected by the storm, and to 'ensure that communities in Cheshire West receive the financial support they need for recovery, with minimal barriers and bureaucracy, and reflecting the special circumstances created by the pandemic'.

CWAC has begun a review of the flooding incidents across the borough in its role as the legal flooding authority, to help ensure lessons are learnt for the future.

Last Friday, Mr Eustice told the Local Democracy Reporting Service that areas like Northwich could benefit a change in the funding formula used to determine which infrastructure projects should be prioritised.

George Eustice, Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (right) speaking to Environment Agency staff in Northwich. Image: Peter Byrne/PA Wire

He said: "One of the things we are certainly looking at is, with that additional capital money – some £5.2 billion – is putting in an additional weighting for frequently flooded communities.

“So the communities that don’t just get flooded once in every 15 or 20 years, those that get flooded sometimes three or four times in a decade, we want them to be able to get access to more funds to improve the schemes in those towns.”

A full report on the causes of the autumn 2019 flooding is still yet to be released, with CWAC expecting to publish it in the spring.