Following the latest flooding incident in Brecon and Radnorshire, local MP Fay Jones will chair an emergency summit to devise a long-term strategy to protect homes and businesses.
Last week, homes across the constituency were once again subjected to flooding after heavy rainfall across mid Wales. This is the third major flooding incident in since 2020. Residents in Abercraf, Cwmtwrch and Ystradgynlais described torrents of water, leaving carpets and furniture sodden and homes ridden with an appalling smell of foul water. Ms Jones visited the area on Friday to meet with a number of constituents who had appealed to her for help.
Following Storms Ciara and Dennis in February 2020 and further floods later that year, Ms Jones lobbied both Powys County Council and Natural Resources Wales pressing for water courses to be maintained regularly. While ad-hoc action to clear blockages has taken place, a systemic approach looking at flooding hotspots is urgently required to ensure that homes are protected from flooding.
Ms Jones said:
“I am really grateful to staff from Powys County Council, Natural Resources Wales and Welsh Water Dwr Cymru who were quick to support residents whose homes were flooded. However, it’s the lack of long-term planning which has led to this situation. Following yet more devasting flooding in my constituency, I have asked all three bodies to join me for an urgent summit to devise a strategy to ensure this does not happen again.
“In the wake of Storm Dennis in 2020, I asked for more action to protect homes in flood-risk areas such as Ystradgynlais, Abercraf and Cwmtwrch in the South and Penybont, Llanelwedd and Knighton in the north. In many cases, culverts and water courses need to be cleared to allow water to flow away from people’s homes. While this happens on an occasional basis, there appears to be no regular programme of works to keep water moving.
“In particular, I want to discuss how to ensure council tenants are back in safe, clean homes as soon as possible. This is a political decision from the Council. They could choose to invest more in routine maintenance around Council houses but I understand that the Council blames climate change for these ‘freak’ weather events. However, it cannot be freak if it happens every year. The council declared a ‘climate emergency’ earlier this year. This is utterly meaningless if there is no action behind it. We have known about climate change for many years. It’s time for the Liberal Democrats to put their money where their mouth is and devise a strategy for protecting people’s homes and businesses.”