Council leader demands action after touring flood hit areas near Biggleswade

Central Bedfordshire’s council leader is calling for more action on flood defences after the area was badly hit in the aftermath of Storm Henk.

On Saturday, Cllr Adam Zerny visited many of the places in Chronicle country which had been impacted by the flooding.

He said: “I was struck by the natural beauty of our county, but also the huge impact these floods have caused and the great impact on their lives. In Sutton, the brook had receded towards its usual level but there was still much debris. In Blunham river levels were high, barely scraping under the bridge, nearby fields were flooded, close to housing.

"In Tempsford, I joined Cllr Tracey Wye and members of the parish council to see how the River Ivel now covered a whole swathe of fields. Raw sewage was spread across gardens, ditches adjacent to the road were full of water, drains bubbled out close to people's front doors, a pumping station was severely overloaded, and access to properties was limited due to flood waters.

“In Arlesey, I met with local residents and Independent councillors Cllr Kat Woodfine – Independent for Stotfold and Cllr Paul How and with help from Jodie Chillery – CBC Cllr for Arlesey & Fairfield saw where a landslip adjacent to the East Coast Mainline had resulted in emergency works to make the track safe. Adjacent fields were flooded. Everywhere I went, flood plains were covered, fields were waterlogged, crops risked damage and roads were blocked.

“Wherever I went, residents told me of the damage to their properties and the great upheaval it had caused to their lives. In many cases there was praise for the emergency services, for the Fire Service, Police, and for CBC's emergency response services. But there was anger with the water utilities, Anglian and Affinity which cover Central Bedfordshire. And there was dismay over years of national underinvestment and Westminster politicians who hadn't put sufficient pressure on the water utilities to create the required infrastructure. This needs to come from the government. There was fury the same issues had just happened, as took place several years ago.”

Cllr Zerny said he has now written to every town and parish council in Central Bedfordshire asking them to provide a list of where the worst flood damage was, where and when the same scenes had taken place in recent years, what complaints had since been raised and with whom, and what had actually happened.

He has also written to the chief executives of Affinity, Anglian and the Bedfordshire Internal Drainage Board, to Beds Fire Service and Beds Police, and to the Chief Executive of Central Bedfordshire Council.

"Once we have the full picture on what has happened, I will arrange a summit of all relevant bodies, and alongside other Independent councillors we will make it clear that our residents deserve better,” he said. “I have asked that the council investigate calling up emergency funding being considered by the government, to directly support affected communities.

“I will also seek to arrange an emergency debate of all councillors at CBC to get a more detailed picture of events and to understand more about the solutions residents believe should be in place.”

Bedfordshire Fire and Rescue has also issued advice on the dangers of flood water.

A spokesman said: “Our advice to the public is don’t play in flood water, the water is very cold and often very deep. Cold water shock affects your ability to breathe, your ability to swim, and leads to drowning. It can affect even the strongest swimmers.

“There may also be hidden currents and flow that will sweep you away and it can be difficult to get out of if there are steep banks. You also don’t know what lies beneath the water, there could be rubbish, broken glass or lifted manholes which could cause you to end up getting in to trouble in the water, the water will be also be polluted and make you ill if you were to swallow any of it.

"If you find yourself in trouble, remember to float first – fight your instinct to swim – control your breathing, then kick to the side. If you see someone in need of help - ring 999 immediately.”

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