Don’t forget Yorkshire’s flooding summit George Eustice – The Yorkshire Post says

This picture – and the despair of those whose homes and businesses were flooded as a result – summed up the contempt and complacency shown by successive premiers since one of David Cameron’s “money no object” promises to the people of Calderdale after floods in the summer of 2012.

And coming on the eve of the fifth anniversary of Yorkshire’s devastating Christmas floods – the Calder Valley suffered huge damage on this occasion too – there is genuine relief that the new defences are virtually complete in time for the festive season.

Yet, while the Environment Agency’s attention now turns to an alleviation scheme for Hebden Bridge, it remains desperately disappointing that the Government has reneged on the promise by Environment Secretary George Eustice, in the wake of this February’s floods, to hold a Yorkshire-wide summit.

Though bespoke local schemes are critically important, the affected communities still suffering from the same under-investment which has left this region on the wrong side of the North-South divide.

It’s also important, as this newspaper has long argued, that river catchment areas are considered in their entirety and Mr Eustice should still convene a high-powered meeting of key Yorkshire stakeholders to demonstrate that his well-meaning platitudes are more water-tight than Mytholmyrod’s flood defences when Storm Ciara struck in February.

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