Better flood management is needed for places like Hebden Bridge - Yorkshire Post Letters

As a resident who lives in an area which is vulnerable to flooding, I sympathise with those families who live in Hebden Bridge.

Everytime heavy rainfall is forecast and especially if this coincides with a high tide on the River Humber, I am anxious, as the probability of flooding is greater after record rainfall during September 2024 when the soil is at ‘field capacity’ (meaning that all air spaces between soil particles are full of water) The Yorkshire Post 14 October 2024.

South Holderness is completely flat and therefore low lying. It is a large catchment area of farmland with ditches, running from the Yorkshire Wolds down to the River Humber at Paull, east of Hull.

The embankment on the Holderness drain has been raised by 300mm (1' foot) but I am not entirely convinced that this will save homes and businesses in Hedon from flooding in the future.

It is particularly worrying to read 5.5 million homes are in areas which could or are likely to flood, and even more worrying, in that another 2,000 homes have been added to this list.

I predict that this number will increase as the current Labour government is proposing to build 1.5 million homes in the next five years, some on green and 'grey' belt land so this will be in low lying areas.

I fully understand the complexities of solving the flooding in the bottom of the valley where Hebden Bridge is located. But local authorities planners have over the years allowed building to the edge of the river? Making it more difficult to keep large volumes of rainfall water moving.

But why is it taking many years for these schemes to be planned and brought into reality? Some of this will be local authority interference by, yes the planners, environmentalists and do good local Wildlife Trusts.

Each year that nothing is done on the ground then residents and business owners in these communities in Calderdale and Catcliffe in South Yorkshire will stay very anxious as seasonal weather patterns are changing.

I hope that the new Water and Flooding Minister, Emma Hardy, will help to 'shake up' the Environment Agency and Defra and get at least some of these schemes fully planned, costed and JCB excavators with Thwaite dumpers moving or into work, before the worst of the winter rains come and do more damage in the upper valley of Calderdale.