Give South Yorkshire flooding victims proper compensation – Yorkshire Post Letters

WE must all feel great sympathy for the people of Fishlake who have had their homes flooded. However, I believe that sympathy is not enough. These people are entitled to compensation.

Boris Johnson’s five flooding failures make Jeremy Corbyn look credible as PM finally visits Doncaster – Tom Richmond

Whilst Fishlake can be said to be in the lower reaches of the Don catchment, and even on a flood plain, the situation has been exacerbated by the actions of others – namely the Environment Agency, and the upstream authorities covering Sheffield and Doncaster.

River dredging is a simple answer to Yorkshire’s flooding woes: Yorkshire Post Letters

The EA has implemented flood defences upstream by raising the banks of the river. This has resulted in more water passing downstream and contributing to the flooding at Fishlake.

Dredging is the solution to floods risk - Yorkshire Post letters

Upstream councils have authorised the building of houses, covering green fields with concrete, and thus speeding up the run-off. We have in recent years seen mass immigration. In 2018 immigration was in excess of 600,000, equivalent to a city the size of Leeds. Whilst many British citizens left to go overseas, this has created the need for more and more housing. And this is not going to end. Flooding in areas such as Fishlake will only get worse. These people should be compensated.

From: John Reeve, Kiln Field, Staxton.

SHAME on the Environment Agency for failing over the last 40+ years to clear, dig out and clear the river bottoms which have risen over this period by many feet. This they used to do every 30 to 40 years on the river Calder and others in the Calder Valley in West Yorkshire where I used to live as a local authority employee, monitoring this problem. The Environment Secretary needs to get this problem organised for all rivers to be checked on a regular basis, as they used to be, and clear out all the rubbish, wood, bed frames, cycles dumped therein, preventing the danger to all residents.

From: Roy Turner, Hollybank Avenue, Upper Cumberworth, Huddersfield.

HERE we are again. Record water levels. Millions spent on flood defences. Same old problem – thousands of homes decimated for months.

My hobby is walking. I live near the River Don, and cross many other main rivers while out and about – the common denominator of them all is the amount of debris they contain, including fallen trees. May I suggest money and labour be spent to clear this. Also make councils accountable for river clearance passing through their jurisdiction.

From: Simon Burdis, Goathland Avenue, Newcastle upon Tyne.

THE inadequate response to the current flooding crisis shows yet again why we need a devolved regional parliament and government for the entire north of England with our MPs, elected in future via proportional representation, as our regional representatives.

In many ways, this is at least as important as campaigning on the 2016 referendum decision.