Lord Smith - Environment Agency

[beorhthelm]

a) it is objective that most villages in the flooding are full of very well off people.
b) i have not brought politics into this post.....sometimes i may mention the corporations and central banks are above the govs but this is objective.
c) the rich country folk with their 50k 4x4s can help the relief fund.
d) most men look at the lie of the land when buying property, not just how many bedrooms, schools, garage size etc (watch the house hunt programmes' somerset episodes if you think i am being subjective).

you've never actually been to countryside have you? i mean for more than an hour to take in a country pub or something. clearly, and ironically, you've based your entire opinion on what you see on those property TV programmes.

 

[Danny-Boy]

According to local farmers the rivers haven't been dredged properly for 30 years. Yet we give £1 billion to India over 5 years, and their Finance Minister turns round and says they don't need it, describing it as "peanuts". Bad choices in government.

Nor has the Cuckmere...

 

[ThePompousPaladin]

Has the dredging stopped due to the impact on wildlife, or is it purely budgetary?
(i think thats a word, and not a bird).

 

[Leekbrookgull]

Politicians held responsible for failure in their departments and resign- you must be joking! They are all in it for what they can take out and certainly not what they can give. There is barely an honourable one in any party.

Spot-on brother,lets face it it was not until News24/Sky turned-up that Cameron and Co showed any interest.

 

[Leekbrookgull]

As to the arguement 'there's no money' bloodly found it for Afghanistan and Iraq. As to foreign aid i use to 'do' the monthly Oxfam appeal but as soon as India went nuclear then forget it.

 

[seagullsovergrimsby]

According to local farmers the rivers haven't been dredged properly for 30 years.

Coincidentally about the same time as the water companies were being fattened up for privatisation after Maggie put them on the "for sale" list.

 

[cunning fergus]

But we don't. Every so often you're going to get a 1 in 50 or 1 in 100 amount of rainfall just like we're getting and then no matter what you've built it isn't going to help. Look at New Orleans

I agree, however the facts are that there has been repeated flooding in last 3 years whereas historically it has occurred infrequently as a consequence of the 1 every 50 year events.

The council in N Somerset and UK Govt can spend as much time naval gazing about climate change as it wants, the reality however is they need to do the things (like dredging the rivers) the used to happen that kept the Somerset levels typically flood free.

http://www.n-somerset.gov.uk/Enviro...ts/ClimateChangeAdaptationActionPlanfinal.pdf