Flood Action Groups from Cumbria are presenting their issues and concerns to the Environment Food and Rural Affairs (Efra) Select Committee in Westminster today (7 February 2017). 

Flood action groups from across Cumbria have joined together to jointly provide evidence on how flooding has affected their lives, what the recovery has been like and what needs to happen next.

Paul Cobbing of the National Flood Forum said, “The communities in Cumbria have lived through flooding for 10 years now.  They are the experts in flooding in their communities and they are the people who have to live with the consequences of the decisions that organisations take.  Communities need to be at the heart of shaping their future.”

The Efra Select Committee today will hear about the devastation that flooding causes to communities, the role that agriculture and land management can play in flood risk management and its importance to the economic and social wellbeing of the whole of Cumbria, the level of ambition that we need to demonstrate to tackle flood risk and how this is lacking across many organisations, how the planning system is causing major problems now and for the future, the imperative of undertaking some of the practical work quickly and in the most efficient ways, and the importance of having a county wide Emergency Plan that reflects the scale of the challenge that communities in Cumbria face.

Paul Cobbing said, “It is people’s lives that matter.  It’s easy to get wrapped up in the technicalities, but today, people from communities in Cumbria have been able to speak directly about what matters to them.”

The National Flood Forum organised and supported the presentation of evidence to the Efra Select Committee by Flood Action Groups from Cumbria.

Media coverage to appear on ITV Borders evening programme on 7 February and BBC Radio Cumbria Drivetime show at 5.20pm – Tune in!