Flood meeting next week

WORKING together is the key to the flood defence strategy for the Ouse Valley, claims the Environment Agency's Peter Midgley.

The Sussex Flood Defence Committee will present the strategy, drawn up by the Agency, at a public meeting in Lewes Town Hall at 6.30pm on Wednesday.

The torrential rainfall of October 11, 2000, will be forever remembered for its ferocity. An incredible 5 inches of rain fell in just 24 hours.

'Everyone in the country was shocked to see just how horrendous the flooding was here in Lewes, Uckfield and the Ouse Valley,' said Mr Midgley, area manager for Sussex.

'When you see something like that on the television, it's hard enough to take in, but when you see the tragic effects it had on real families you just want to do everything in your power to put it right.

'You can't fight nature. When rainfall is as heavy and prolonged as it was on the night of October 11 then inevitably there will be serious consequences.

'It would have been easy for us to have had a knee-jerk reaction to the Lewes and Uckfield floods without considering the implications fully.

'This is a complicated issue that affects everyone living and working in the Ouse catchment. Simply putting up flood defences in Lewes or any other area, without thinking about the rest of the valley, would have been at best irresponsible and at worst could have meant possibly fatal consequences.

'We have brought in expertise from an independent firm of consulting engineers and worked with local groups to design a strategy that makes technical, environmental and economic sense.

'We have been able to draw up a proposal for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs which I believe gives the best possible defence that we can afford to the area.

'We will also be carrying out further studies in partnership with English Nature to look at how these changes will affect natural processes and how we can make better use of flood plain at Lewes Brooks. Our aim is to work with nature not against it.

'I welcome the involvement of the people of Lewes. We need this to be their strategy for their valley.'

There will be an exhibition of the strategy in the town hall from 2pm to 9pm on Wednesday when Environment Agency Officers will be available to answer questions.

Present at the meeting, from 6.30 to 9pm will be Peter Doran, chairman of the Sussex Flood Defence Committee; Peter Midgley; Norman Baker MP, Cllr Ann De Vecchi, leader of Lewes District Council and a member of East Sussex County Council.

Others invited include representatives from the insurance industry, emergency services and the consultants who prepared the initial report on the flood.

The strategy recommends improved town centre defences with higher walls and the possibility of creating flood plain at Lewes Brooks.