Local MP calls for better drains maintenance in debate on Bedfordshire flooding

Following the recent flooding across the constituency, Blake set up a survey asking residents to share their views on what went wrong and how the response in the future could be improved.

One of the main concerns raised was the failure to properly maintain drains, gullies and ditches, so after securing a Parliamentary debate on local flooding Blake was keen to highlight his constituents concerns.

In the speech, Blake Stephenson, the Mid Bedfordshire MP, said: “The blocked drains reported right across Mid Beds in places like Lower Shelton, Flitwick, Cranfield, Harlington and Maulden significantly increase the likelihood of surface water flooding.

“Clearing the drains regularly, if not the sole solution, represents common sense to my constituents and is a quick answer to mitigate at least some of the risk. They want to see the schedule of maintenance improved materially.

“Leaves fall every autumn and block drains, not every three years, and utility companies dig up roads and fill drains with mud and tarmac, only to leave them to be cleared by the council in its three-yearly cycle. This simply is not good enough, and it is putting property and lives at risk.

“I therefore call on the Government to urgently consider introducing a new statutory duty on local authorities to clear drains and culverts regularly, backed by central funding at the Budget to ensure that councils have the resources they need.”

Other concerns shared with Blake by local residents included the impact of significant house building in the countryside on flooding. The local MP asked the Government to ensure ‘that housing targets do not put the delivery of new homes over the habitability of housing stock, or the safety and sustainability of our communities.’

The closure of the A421 for a number of weeks was one of the most high profile incidents during the recent flooding, with more than 60 million litres of water needing to be pumped from the road.

During the House of Commons debate, the design of the A421 was another issue raised by the Mid Bedfordshire MP.

He said: “National Highways has worked hard around the clock to reopen the road, but as we look at lessons learned, significant questions must be asked about how we got here—how a major A-road, connecting Bedford to the M1, built this century, can have been built down into the ground in a historic floodplain, which of course is prone to flooding.

“It was designed in such a way that it regularly floods a little, but was built with flooding mitigations insufficient to deal with the kind of flooding that could become all too common in the years ahead.

“As this Government look to build similar infrastructure in the years ahead, we must heed the warnings of the A421 and build in a way that is protected from not the flooding of yesterday, but the flooding of tomorrow.”

The Flooding Minister agreed to meet with Blake and other MPs to discuss some of the concerns raised in his speech.

You can watch the full debate here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=44X3TujAVmw