'Stop building in flood areas'

A councillor in south Shropshire wants an urgent investigation to make sure no new homes are built in areas prone to flooding.Councillor Martin Taylor-Smith yesterday asked South Shropshire District Council's environment bosses to make sure there was an investigation.

He said the Environment Agency had recently published updated maps of areas prone to flooding, following last year's devastating summer rains.

Councillor Taylor-Smith said: "We have a lot of large scale building projects that are in the pipeline. We need to make sure no new homes are built in areas that are at risk of flooding."

Members of the committee heard that the floods last summer constituted a "major disaster".

John Bryan, the district's property services boss, said: "The floods were a major disaster. These events may only happen every 150 years, otherwise we would have to go round digging new river beds."

The meeting heard that the district council had acted efficiently and with great speed in helping those who were worst affected.

But there was some confusion among other agencies involved in rescue and clean-up operations, including the Environment Agency.

Graham Biggs, the council's chief executive, said South Shropshire District Council worked hard to keep all of its water courses clear.

However, some water courses were the responsibility of individual land owners or the Environment Agency.

Councillor Colin Pendry said locals and parish councils needed to have emergency plans of their own.

He said: "In Clun, we are prepared for this sort of thing. We have an electrician ready, people willing to offer bed and breakfast accommodation and others involved."

Councillor Mrs Cecilia Motley, the district council's leader, said the authority would now liaise with other agencies to make sure everybody was ready in the event of further flooding.

She said special maps ought to be drawn up with the help of locals and parish councils, pinpointing flooding hotspots.

The council needed to draw on local knowledge so that it was properly equipped. And it ought to have a detailed list of drains, fields, streets and other areas that were usually the first to flood.