Shropshire farmers welcome PM's cash pledge to flood fields
A plan to pay farmers for allowing their land to be flooded has been welcomed by some in Shropshire who say they do just that, without payment, every time rivers rise.
Prime Minister David Cameron said this week that under the flooding farmland grant plans, farmers could be rewarded for designating land to be inundated in heavy rains to prevent excess water flooding property in towns downstream.
Currently, farmers receive money from the European Union's Common Agricultural Policy for keeping land in farmable condition. However, in Shropshire and on the Powys border farmers and landowners say they have been protecting Shrewsbury for decades, yet received no compensation.
Bryan Edwards, of Pool Farm, Melverley, sees his land under water every time the Severn/Vyrnwy confluence floods.
"It is engineered flooding that had been going on for about 80 years," he said.
"Argaes or embankments keep flood waters out but when it reaches a certain level the water pours though and on to the farmland. It remains there contained until gates at Pentre are opened as levels on the Severn drop and the water is allowed back into the river.
"We have been protecting Shrewsbury from floods for years, without any compensation. It would be very good to get a grant – I wonder if we could ask for it to be backdated."
Sarah Faulkner, NFU regional environment adviser, said: "Farming has a role to play in managing the impact of floods but we must remember that farmers need to protect their businesses and produce food for us all to eat.
"Holding water on farmland to protect urban areas downstream has been mentioned as part of the solution. However, at present this service that farmers provide is unrewarded and often unplanned. It does not come without its own costs and repercussions, such as lost crops or damaged grassland, or even water contamination.
"Increasing the level of protection for towns means that adjacent rural areas are flooded for longer and deeper."
