HANSARD
Flood Risk and Flood Defence Infrastructure: North-west England
- 4:30 pm
- I beg to move,That this House has considered flood risk and flood defence infrastructure in the North West.It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Dr Murrison. I asked for this debate because people in Warrington South are worn down by the constant risk of flooding. It shapes their day-to-day lives far more than most people realise. We need a frank conversation about what is happening and what needs to change. For my constituents in places such as Dallam, Bewsey, Sankey Bridges and Penketh, this is not about distant risks or statistical forecasts. It is about the reality of waking up to flood alerts, checking river levels whenever the rain starts to fall, and wondering whether the water will stop before it breaches the banks of the brook.I have lost count of the number of people who have told me that they cannot sleep when heavy rain is forecast. Parents have told me that their children get anxious when storms are mentioned on the news. Older residents tell me that they keep a torch by the bed, just in case. It is those small details that show just how deeply flooding affects people long after the water has gone. That is no way to live. No family should have to brace themselves over and over again for another clean-up every time the water rises.In Dallam, we now see a situation where people are effectively marooned. When Longshaw Street floods and the Hawley’s Lane bridge goes under, Dallam becomes an island. People cannot get to work, get their children to school or leave their homes safely. Older residents who rely on adult social care are cut off. Patients at Lea Court are placed at additional risk because the access routes simply disappear under the water. Those are serious safety issues. No community should find itself trapped because the infrastructure around it can no longer cope.From Merseyside to Greater Manchester, and Warrington in between, communities are facing the same issues: extreme rainfall, overwhelmed watercourses and schemes that take too long to materialise. The north-west is carrying a growing share of the national flood burden. Our region contributes significantly to the national economy. We should not be left fighting year after year for the basic infrastructure needed to keep homes and businesses safe. For too long, flood resilience in the north-west has relied on a patchwork of bids, lobbying rounds and one-off pots of money. That is not a strategy. It leaves communities vulnerable, stuck in a cycle of uncertainty.On new year’s day, I was out across Warrington South in communities devastated by flooding, down Higham Avenue, Tavlin Avenue, Longshaw Street and Southworth Avenue. Some families were only just returning to normality following the Storm Christoph floods in 2021. Others were already exhausted by the constant cycle of rain, flood alerts, worry and clean-up, and it has not stopped there.
- My hon. Friend mentioned Storm Christoph. Both Northwich and Winsford in my constituency flooded twice in an 18-month period, most recently during that storm. Our section 19 investigation found that although Northwich’s flood walls held, the ancient Victorian combined sewerage system was not up to scratch. Does she agree that when we talk about investment in flood defences, it is about not just flood walls, but investment in our sewerage infrastructure?
- I absolutely agree; my hon. Friend makes an important point.In September, we came within inches of another major event. The emergency services set up a temporary command post, and we were preparing to evacuate homes again. Then, just last Friday, we had another flood alert, with modelling suggesting that we were heading for yet another breach. Residents can see what is happening: these events are coming closer together and they are becoming harder to predict, but none of that should come as a surprise.I want to be clear that the areas most exposed to flooding in Warrington South are some of the most deprived, with some of the highest levels of disadvantage. They are the least able to shoulder the cost of repairs, the rising insurance premiums or months of disruption. Those communities are hit first and hit hardest, and they deserve the very best protection we can give them, not the uncertainty of waiting year after year for the infrastructure that they should already have had.When I looked at an old Ordnance Survey map from the 1880s, I saw that the land around Dallam and Bewsey was clearly marked as liable to flooding, with mud flats shown across an area that is now full of homes. Much of the housing built in the pre-war and post-war decades went up before anyone talked about climate resilience or long-term hydrology. Those decisions were not malicious; they were just made in a different era. With the kind of extreme rainfall that we are now seeing, those early planning decisions are showing their limits. That history matters—it helps to explain why that area is so vulnerable and why modern infrastructure simply must catch up.Nobody back then could have foreseen the level of rainfall now, but we cannot pretend that those planning decisions are not part of why we are here today. We have a responsibility to respond to the risks that are now so clear. This is not bad luck or a one-off winter; it is a pattern. The storms are heavier, the water rises faster and the ground saturates more quickly. Our infrastructure simply was not built for that pace or intensity of change.
- My hon. Friend touches on an important point about early warning. My constituency experienced devastating flooding in 2005 and 2015. Last week, despite flood warnings, we mercifully escaped—though parts of the city were affected —when what had been forecast was not what transpired. The Environment Agency appears to lack access to accurate radar forecasting. Does she agree that we must equip the EA with exactly that type of early warning?
- I absolutely agree. We have also experienced that. At the time of the last flooding event, certain levels were predicted that did not come to pass. The accuracy is not there at the moment.I want to take a moment to thank the EA, Warrington borough council and our emergency services, because they have done everything they can with the limited resources available. Partners I have worked with have been open and honest about the challenges, and they care deeply about getting this right, but they cannot carry the burden without stability and adequate support from central Government on the ground.I hope that the Minister will consider the following asks. First, schemes such as Sankey brook need funding certainty. Families who have lived with repeated floods should not be waiting each year to see if the next phase can go ahead. Short-term funding creates long-term uncertainty. It slows down planning, delays construction and leaves communities exposed.Local choice cannot become a replacement for proper, national investment. It was never designed to plug repeated funding shortfalls. We need a mechanism that can close affordability gaps quickly for schemes that are already progressing. It is not good enough for a project to be technically sound, publicly supported and urgently needed, only to sit half-funded for years.Secondly, we need faster approval and progress for schemes where the risk is clearly rising. Sankey brook is routinely flagged during heavy rainfall. The recent September near miss, new-year floods, Storm Christoph and this past Friday show how urgent that is.Thirdly, we need better support for interim measures while the long-term scheme is built. That includes making flood alerts more reliable, especially at night and for nearby communities. It means property flood resilience grants, measures to protect people’s homes, and enhanced practical help that is routinely available for councils and landlords dealing with the aftermath of flooding. Our experience in Warrington shows that the current flood recovery framework and Bellwin scheme are not fit for purpose and do not go far enough to support communities or local authorities.
- My hon. Friend is making an excellent speech and I agree with all the things that she has asked for. Perhaps I can add one more ask of both the EA and the Government, which is for more of a focus on the upstream prevention activity, so we can stop the waters coming down on the Mersey—a number of colleagues here are based on the Mersey, and she described the floods coming down so well. Perhaps we could work upstream in the Goyt valley and bring some of the longer-term measures forward to cut the problem off at source. Maybe we can all work together. The MPs who represent constituencies along the Mersey could talk to the EA about how we do that.
- I absolutely agree and would be more than happy to do that.Residents across Bewsey, Dallam, Sankey Bridges and Penketh are doing everything asked of them. They sign up for alerts, check river levels, move furniture upstairs and support one another through the worry. But what they cannot do is hold back water that rises faster and more aggressively every year. We finally got the Sankey brook scheme moving. Now we need the reassurance that it will continue at pace with the funding and support required to get it over the line. If schemes like this stall, the ripple effects are felt from family homes to local businesses and transport routes.The storms will not wait for 2032. The water will not wait for the next funding round. We have been lucky more than once this year, but luck is not a flood defence strategy. It is not good enough for communities who have already suffered through repeated floods. Behind every issue I have raised this afternoon is a principle: people deserve to feel safe where they live, supported when things go wrong and listened to when they speak up. My constituents in Bewsey, Dallam, Sankey Bridges and beyond have waited long enough. They deserve the right infrastructure to protect them, and I will keep fighting until they get it.
- 4:44 pm
- It is an honour to serve under your chairship, Dr Murrison. I thank the hon. Member for Warrington South (Sarah Hall) for bringing this issue to the House today.“Despite three section 19 reports identifying the issue of a blockage…nothing happens despite recommendations to do so.”Those are the words of Stephen, a constituent of mine in Bramhall who has suffered bad flooding at his home for many years. Just this week, flooding on the A555 relief road under Hall Moss Lane bridge in Bramhall, just down the road from Stephen, led to accidents, a road closure and disruption to many people’s lives, yet the area is being bombarded with planning proposals, encouraged by Government policy that does not in any measure address flooding.Every year, more and more houses are at risk. That takes a serious toll on people, not just financially but emotionally. Post-traumatic stress disorder, long-term displacement and lifetime debt are only some of the consequences of flooding events in our communities. One resident contacted me to say that every time they get the Environment Agency’s emergency alert on their phone, they break out into pure panic.
- Flooding is a huge issue in south Somerset. Does my hon. Friend agree with the Somerset Rivers Authority and me that the Environment Agency’s plan to stop maintaining small rivers and streams due to Government funding cuts will only increase the risk of flooding?
- I appreciate my hon. Friend’s intervention, and yes, there is a question of flooding here. According to the EA’s March 2024 report, 3.2 million properties are at risk of surface water flooding. The latest surface water flooding risk assessment carried out by the EA increased the flood risk rating of many of the homes in my Cheadle constituency. Residents need to know that the Government are taking such flooding seriously.From working with residents, Stockport council and the EA after the awful floods in January, it is clear to me that serious clarification is needed. Stockport council did not receive any funding from the EA or the Government following January’s disastrous flooding, despite its serious and widespread impact and the lives it ruined. What is more, the EA’s long-term flood risk management strategy for the River Mersey has been delayed, which is arguably one of the reasons why Stockport council missed out on the funding.
- The hon. Member is making a very good point. Does he agree that, notwithstanding the large drainage basins of rivers such as the Mersey, the Dee, the Kent and the Lune, which have systemic flood risk, there is also the issue of serious localised flooding across the region, which is often not tied to major drainage basins but connected to sewerage or groundwater?
- The hon. Member makes a fantastic point, and that is the crux of the problem: we concentrate a lot on areas such as the Mersey, but we have a load of waterways and a load of issues around sewerage and drainage that need to be encompassed by our thinking.Organisations responsible must be not only properly funded in the long term, but able to work constructively and effectively together to protect residents. As the Government force us to “build, baby, build”, new developments will only increase surface water flooding as more green belt gets built on and natural drainage is reduced. In the words of the National Infrastructure Commission itself, the Government’s response to the commission’s report on surface water flooding did“not meet the scale of the challenge.”The National Flood Forum receives more than 1,000 calls a year, often from vulnerable residents affected by recent developments causing flooding.The Planning and Infrastructure Bill does not even refer to flooding or flood risk management, and the Environment Agency’s flood risk guidance is often ignored or legally challenged within the Bill. I was proud to support the Liberal Democrat amendments to the Bill that would have properly tackled flooding in relation to planning and required the implementation of sustainable drainage systems in any new development.The EA’s own road map to 2026 suggests that, for every pound spent on protecting communities, we avoid around £5 in property damages. This is incredibly important, so now is the time to commit to long-term funding rather than shy away from it. That is essential to ensuring that my constituents in Cheadle, Bramhall, Woodford, Gatley and all the communities that have been impacted by flooding over the last 12 years can be supported in protecting their homes, their businesses and their communities, as well as reducing the impact of increasingly heavy storms, increased surface water and new developments that have not properly been considered.
- Several hon. Members rose—
- Order. I shall begin calling the Front Benchers at 5.08 pm, so colleagues might like to titrate their contributions accordingly.
- 4:50 pm
- It is a pleasure, as ever, to serve under your chairmanship, Dr Murrison. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Warrington South (Sarah Hall) for securing this critical debate, and praise her language, campaigning approach and resilience —that is really the buzzword for this topic.When we talk about flood risk in the north-west—not just in Burnley but, more obviously, in Padiham and Brierfield—we are not talking about abstract theories or far-off scenarios. We are talking about real people with water in their homes and shops, and about destruction. In Padiham, many families still recall the shock of waking to rising water, the distress of damaged homes and businesses, and the long clean-up that followed the Boxing day floods of 2015. Those experiences stay with our community.That is why the Padiham flood risk management scheme is so important and such a momentous project for Padiham. It is more than a construction project; it represents security, care and commitment to the people who live and work in our town. Once completed, the scheme will protect around 160 homes, businesses and public buildings in the centre of Padiham, and defend our community from the River Calder, the Green brook and the surface water that has caused so much destruction in the past.We are now seeing clear progress: the new flood wall and gate at Bendwood Close is already finished, detailed design work for the wider scheme is nearly complete and full construction is planned to begin in spring 2026, with completion expected by winter 2028. The investment gives the town something very valuable: the ability to look to the future with greater confidence.I put on record my recognition of the team effort that the scheme has been—it has spanned three Members of Parliament and 10 years of lobbying—and of the work of all involved, involving the Environment Agency, Burnley council, Councillor John Harbour, Councillor Barbara Dole, Councillor Alun Lewis and, indeed, the Minister, who I believe signed off the proposals last week, in her first week in office. I am proud that the Government have seen fit to fund the proposals, after the floods in 2015, and that residents and businesses can now have assurance that the scheme will be completed.