No more cash for flood defences

Fortunately a low-tide kept the water flowing through Lewes but roads in Barcombe were flooded.

The upper and lower Ouse were put on floodwatch.

Tom Crossett, of Lewes Flood Action, said of the severe weather: 'If it had been at the end of the month Lewes would have been holding its breath.

'Especially in the Cliffe where the water comes through the drains.'

Just days earlier the Environment Agency confirmed a lack of government funding meant no more flood defence work was in the pipeline for Lewes after the long-awaited Cliffe defences were built.

The EA said any future defences would have to be paid for by property developers in return for being allowed to build on flood plains.

Lewes Flood Action said the work carried out in Lewes had given the town more protection against floods but branded plans to build on the flood plain as 'lunacy'.

In April work is due to begin on 2.4 million scheme to improve defences in the Cliffe area, but no other work is planned for the future.

Last week Lewes Flood Action group held a meeting to discuss the challenge of protecting the town from flooding and on the following day EA regional chief Peter Midgely was in Lewes to see the potential problems at first hand (see page 5).

A spokesman for the Environment Agency said: 'This problem is not unique to Lewes.

'There is no more money available and Lewes does meet the Government requirements for priority funding.

'But if developers build on flood plains there will be an opportunity to have flood defences as part of the development, flood defences which will not only protect the new homes but also other homes in the area.'

However, Lewes Flood Action is opposed to building housing on flood plains.

Mr Crossett said: 'The grim message from the Environment Agency at a public meeting in Lewes on January 10 was that Lewes, will not get no more flood defences after Cliffe unless they are provided by property developers in exchange for permission to build on our floodplain.'The flood defences at Malling and the ones which will be built in Cliffe means we are in much better position than we were in 2000 and much better than other parts of the UK.

'But that doesn't mean we should put people in more danger by rampant residential development on flood plains.

'North Street only currently has one residential house and it would be lunacy to put more there.'

He said district council planners should not give permission for homes until a local development framework, based on a strategic assessment of flood risk, is created.