Move for more cash to prevent flooding rejected

County councillors have rejected a move to set aside £341,000 for parish councils to bid for to alleviate and prevent flooding in their areas.

Conservative deputy group leader Nigel Shaw proposed that Herefordshire Council should set aside the money from the New Homes Bonus fund for a grant scheme at last week’s budget meeting.

The New Homes Bonus is a government incentive that rewards councils for the number homes built in their area.

Councillor Shaw said some of the funding could be used to help parishes in dealing with flooding.

He said: “Parish councils and their lengths men are the unsung heroes of our local roads and continue to deliver excellent value for money.

“They often feel frustrated at the inability to tackle ongoing minor flooding issues often caused by blocked or collapsed culverts, lost drains or changes to road topography.

“This particular fund will not be panacea but ought to be a cost-effective way of enabling parishes help themselves to attend to seeing to roads and take away some of the spots where flooding is a pernicious, persistent and perennial problem every winter.”

Infrastructure and transport cabinet member John Harrington said the council used to have a good lengths man scheme which the previous administration withdrew.

He said to expect parish councils to get involved in major flood alleviation projects was not realistic.

Coun Harrington felt the amendment was a “spurious attempt” to take money away from sustainable transport plans and called on councillors to reject it.

“Flood alleviation schemes are serious pieces of working across wide ranging areas of geography and quite wide-ranging impacts and scopes,” he said.

“That’s why they are delivered by multiple agencies.

“We’ve got current projects progressing at the moment. One completed at Colwall, one progressing at Lea, Leominster and Kenwater, and we’re bidding for funding through the Environment Agency for Greyfriars Walford, Leintwardine, Hampton Bishop and Ewyas Harold.

“The schemes that are either completed or in progress are £4m.

“To be expecting parish councils to come onboard and somehow get involved with these larger elements of flood protection is obviously patently absurd.”

Coun Shaw’s amendment to the budget was rejected by 28 votes to 20 with two abstentions.