Rushcliffe MP Ruth Edwards brought the Parliamentary Undersecretary of State for Water, Robbie Moore MP, to visit flood hit communities in Cropwell Butler and Radcliffe-on-Trent today to see first hand the impact of Storm Henk.
After spending yesterday evening and this morning visiting flooded communities in the south of Rushcliffe, Ruth met the Minister in Cropwell Butler this afternoon. They were joined by Nottinghamshire County Council flood lead and local councillor Neil Clarke and senior members of the Environment Agency.
The group met with Parish Council Chair Chris Davenport and went to meet affected residents to show the Minister the aftermath of the flooding in the village.
Recently, Ruth has been developing a bid, in partnership with Nottinghamshire County Council and Cropwell Butler Parish Council, for funding for a natural flood management scheme, which will hold more water on the land and slow it’s progress into the village. Ruth met with ministers and officials just days before Christmas to make the case for the bid.
With the Minister on the ground, Ruth and Cllr Clarke stressed to him the importance of the funding and pressed him to make an early decision.
After Cropwell Butler, The group travelled to Radcliffe on Trent Residential Park to meet residents who were flooded earlier in the week.
They were joined by local councillors Roger Upton and Abby Brennan as well as Resident’s Association Chair Laurie Walker, to discuss the terrible effect the storm had on this Trent side community.
• Drone views show the scene at Radcliffe on Trent Caravan Park as flood warning in place
Ruth was keen to emphasise to the minister the importance of getting support quickly to communities impacted by flooding and to praise the fantastic work done by both Nottinghamshire County Council and Rushcliffe Borough Council during the latest storm.
Since being elected in 2019, Ruth has worked with communities across Rushcliffe to identify and tackle specific flooding problems. After publishing her flood report in 2020, Ruth has managed to secure millions of pounds of investment to upgrade the sewer systems across the south of Rushcliffe and has worked with Nottinghamshire County Council to clean up malfunctioning parts of existing drainage systems.
Speaking after the Minister’s visit, Ruth said “Having spent the last few days visiting communities across Rushcliffe talking to people about the impact of Storm Henk, I would like to thank everyone who has worked so hard to protect homes, help neighbours, and rescue animals.
“I am hugely grateful to both Nottinghamshire County and Rushcliffe Borough councils for responding incredibly quickly with sandbags, pumping lorries and other hardware when properties have been at risk of being flooded.
“The county council has also done a great job with clearing the majority of ditches, culverts and drains. There will always be some issues, but they have broadly managed to keep the system working and fix the majority of problems fast.
“The areas which have flooded this winter highlight the importance of the ongoing work we are doing across Rushcliffe to tackle flooding and to try to mitigate problems. Good progress has been made in many parts but the fight goes on where issues still exist.
“I would also like to say a massive thank you to the Minister for coming out so quickly and listening to people who have been impacted. I am afraid he will be hearing from me again next week as I push for the Cropwell Butler bid and other support for Rushcliffe.
“Sadly, we won’t ever be able to eliminate flooding or it’s risks altogether but by working collaboratively, we can mitigate many problems and improve flood resilience across our area.
“As always, If anyone has been impacted by the floods and needs help, please email me at ruth.edwards.mp@parliament.uk”
Cllr Neil Clarke said “I am really grateful that the Minister took the trouble to come and see the flooding issues for himself. He agreed that to view the results of heavy rainfall and river flooding helped him understand the problems that residents encounter.”
Cllr Abby Brennan said “We have a fantastic team at Rushcliffe Borough Council who have worked round the clock to support flooded communities. Working with the fire service, we successfully evacuated residents most at risk including the vulnerable and elderly and secured temporary accommodation for them.
“I would like to thank everyone involved for working so hard and helping our residents.”
@westbridgfordwirenews Rushcliffe MP Ruth Edwards brought the Parliamentary Undersecretary of State for Water, Robbie Moore MP, to visit flood hit communities in Cropwell Butler and Radcliffe-on-Trent today to see first hand the impact of Storm Henk.. #nottingham #flood #flooding #ukflood #foryoupage #fyp #westbridgford #nottinghamnews #radcliffeontrent #rushcliffe #rivertrent #notts #stormhenk #radcliffe #trentbridge #CapCut ♬ original sound – West Bridgford Wire News
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