Health damage from flooding

A REVEALING scientific study on the health impact of the October, 2000, floods in Lewes is nearing completion, nearly 300 people at a Lewes Town Hall meeting heard on Thursday last week.

But the results will be published in medical journals before being made available to the wider public, said Lewes District Council health director Ian Kedge.

He said the findings, following an extensive survey, were highly significant. They appeared to show increased levels of physical illness and psychological distress among flooded households.

The study was carried out between the Public Health laboratory service, Lewes District Council and the health authority.

Mr Kedge said no more on the matter at the Lewes Flood Action-organised meeting but John May from the audience said the public needed more detailed information on many issues relating to the floods.

He felt it was 'disgusting' that information from the health report should be withheld until published in a scientific journal.

Lindsay Frost, council head of environmental services, said later: 'If it has to be of any credibility to the Government, the report must be scientifically accurate, which means it must go though the normal process of scientific validation.

'It is important that we influence Government policy to give more weight to the social impact of flooding when it makes decisions about money to be spent on flood defences.

'We will write to flood affected residents with results of the study, and also make the information available to the public at large, at the same time as the study is published in the medical scientific journal.'

During the meeting Environment Agency area manager Peter Midgley said the agency was very close to coming up with a Lewes flood relief scheme, and he outlined the basic direction the scheme will take.

l The river channel will be kept at the same width but its banks will be raised by about a metre as it passes through the town.

l Some areas north and south of Lewes, particularly to the south will be allowed to flood at times of crisis.

'The idea is to suck water through the town,' he added. 'It is a tight channel and it will be difficult.

'We want to come to you with something safe and sound that will do the job.

'It could take five to seven years to achieve but given the finance work could start in 2003/04.'

He said using fields as flood plains would inevitably mean less agricultural production. The Agency would have to work carefully with farmers on that issue.

And he agreed that there had been some developments on the flood plain area that, if they had come before the Agency today, would not now be permitted.

Earlier at the meeting, Lewes MP Norman Baker said he was dismayed that 18 months down the road there was still no preferred scheme option.

The scheme was six to eight months behind where it should be, he added.

Tom Crossett from the audience pointed out that 10 per cent of the Lewes population lived within the notional flood plain.

Peter Atkin warned that without proper insurance as a result of the floods, Lewes could gradually die.