No extra funding for flooded Somerset

SURELY this photograph of the flooding on the Somerset Levels taken at the weekend must tell the Government that money is needed immediately to help solve the ongoing misery.

The photo, which was taken on Saturday (January 25, 2014), shows Yeovil man Peter Mooney in his kayak next to a car which has been submerged by floodwater for weeks on the road to the isolated village of Muchelney.

Although Somerset has been declared a “major incident” area because of the flooding and people and supplies are being taken to and from Muchelney by boat, the Government has said that there will not be any immediate extra funding to protect flood-hit communities in the county.

That news has left Somerset County Council leader, Cllr John Osman, “hugely disappointed”, but the Environment Secretary, Owen Paterson, has today (January 27, 2014) announced an action plan for the next 20 years to protect the levels and moors.

Cllr Osman said: “Although I am hugely disappointed that Central Government have not announced any additional funding we will continue to keep the pressure on to secure a fair deal for Somerset’s residents.

“We are happy to work with Government and other agencies to draw up a long-term plan to protect our communities against flooding, but I want to be clear that this is not the end of our fight to lobby Government to support our flood-hit communities.”

Mr Paterson was in Somerset this morning to see at first-hand the problems which have been caused by flooding on the Somerset Levels and isolating communities such as Muchelney.

Possible projects mentioned by Mr Paterson included a barrage for Bridgwater, dredging rivers, and other flood prevention measures.                                                                        

People are encouraged to support Somerset County Council’s campaign to secure ‘Fairer Funding for Somerset’ by liking and sharing photos at www.facebook.com/fairerfundingforsomerset or by using the hashtag #fairerfundingforsomerset on Twitter.

The county has been suffering from flooding problems for weeks now and as these photos show (submitted to the Yeovil Press by Pete Mooney) it does not look as if the situation is going to improve any day soon.

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