A furious political row has broken out after a Norfolk MP blamed the county council for not doing enough to stop the devastating impact of this week’s floods.
Duncan Baker, Tory MP for North Norfolk, has accused Conservative-run Norfolk County Council of not spending enough money on measures that might have prevented damage to people's home and property.
But he in turn has come under fire, with critics saying he is overlooking the financial pressure on the authority and the huge volumes of cash required, which would have to come from his own government.
The row comes after Norfolk was battered by two storms in recent weeks, leaving large areas of the county underwater, with homes and businesses flooded.
On a visit to some of the villages affected, Mr Baker said: “I’m really cross about it, there’s not enough being done."
“I would call on Norfolk County Council to put more money into flooding.
“The county council needs to fund flooding response better, they need more members of staff tackling this.
“Over the last few weeks, I have had people in Sheringham who were flooded in 2020 who have still not been supported by the county council, who have still not had fitments [such as doorway barricades] put in to help them.
“This is now a major issue that is affecting residents in Norfolk.”
Mr Baker said County Hall, which is the responsible authority for flooding, had previously promised to seek funding for flood protection grants, which would help people protect their homes with things like flood doors and air brick covers.
But three years after serious flooding in 2020, Mr Baker said his residents still had not been offered any support.
“If we had got on and helped these people in Sheringham we could have stopped some of the flooding that has happened,” he said.
“This is because the county council does not have the resources in place to help homeowners, it needs to be on par with their other responsibilities.
“I will be taking it up with the leader and chief executive.”
Mr Baker also said he would be sitting down with the Environment Agency to discuss river catchments in north Norfolk and called for ditches to be better managed to prevent them getting blocked.
But Steffan Aquarone, a Norfolk county councillor and Mr Baker's Liberal Democrat opponent for the North Norfolk seat, hit out at his rival's response.
“The reality is that the county council’s finances are in such a perilous state due to continued cuts from central government that all the council can do is draw up reports.
“The reason the county council hasn’t got the money is because this government, of which Mr Baker is a part, has failed to invest in measures to protect our rural and coastal area.
“I rarely stand up for the county council and disagree with where they have applied their cuts but the authority is having to balance its books.
“It is going to take serious investment and it is his government that has failed to take action.”
The Norfolk Strategic Flood Alliance, a group set up by Norfolk County Council in the wake of the Christmas 2020 floods, said in November last year that the measures needed to protect the most vulnerable areas of the county would cost £80m.
The former chair of the group, General Lord Dannatt, called on the local MPs to lobby the government to provide enforcement powers so landowners who refuse to keep waterways clear can be fined.
Kay Mason Billig, leader of Norfolk County Council, said she was “proud” of the authority’s response to recent flooding, saying it had responded quickly “to help protect people and property”.
She said: “We need a smarter approach to delivering national funding to local councils, so that affected residents can benefit quicker where the local case for improvements is clear.”
She called for national funding that works for rural and isolated properties and said her authority was looking at ways to do more to capture and reuse surface water.
THE HOME THAT HAS FLOODED THREE TIMES
John Abson and his wife, who are both in their 80s, said their home on Lusher Close, Sheringham, has been flooded three times – in 2006, 2020 and 2023.
Despite submitting an application for support from the county council three years ago, the couple has had no help.
“Since 2020 the county council has done nothing to help us,” Mr Abson said.
“They sent structural engineers out to survey the property and look at what ingress points they could close up, that report went to the county council three years ago and nothing has been done.
“This is not a problem of our making, it is drainage, water comes down from Pretty Corner and there is no drainage between there and our estate.”
The most recent flooding followed Storm Babet, which Mr Abson said was the worst yet.
“We are worried, we are deflated we know it will happen again and we are not getting anywhere with Norfolk County Council.
“We are both in our 80s, it’s affecting our physically and mental health.”
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