Attleborough residents call for flood protection measures

People whose homes and businesses were affected by Storm Babet have demanded immediate action to stop any further flooding.

Some 200 people attended a meeting in Attleborough, Norfolk on Monday night, to discuss solutions.

Storm Babet saw 129 homes in the town damaged earlier this month - some for a second time in three years.

Representatives of Breckland, Norfolk County and town councils said they would work together to protect locals.

A team attended affected areas in Attleborough on Tuesday and Rob Walker, deputy chief executive of Breckland Council, said: "Investigations are progressing".

Mark Howsen, whose home on Silver Street at Besthorpe flooded, said he felt "some reassurance" that plans existed to deal with the problem.

"They just need to come to fruition," he said.

"We need immediate action for the weather (Storm Ciarán), being forecast later in the week."

Mr Howsen and others wanted confirmation from the agencies that the problems were not being caused by the housing development currently being built.

He said culverts needed to be cleaned out, and wanted "somebody to take ownership of that".

"I have lived here for eight years and I am sceptical about the ability of the local councils to have enforcement power to make things happen," he said.

"Because some of these issues apparently from tonight, have been going on for several years.

"It shouldn't take as long as it is to resolve some of these issues, it's just a lack of responsibility and ownership and everybody passing the buck really."

Georgina Potter's home was flooded for a second time in three years. She and her family are currently living in temporary accommodation.

"We've been housed in a hotel, my husband and my son in one room," she said.

"We just want to get back in our home and be safe in our home, whether that's diverting the water course or giving us some reassurance that its not going to happen again."

Lynn Shortt and her husband Hans are in their 70s.

They have been clearing the culvert next to their property on Mill Lane regularly for some 40 years and are behind a local campaign to get better flood mitigation.

"I think solutions are going to be a long-term thing," said Mrs Shortt, after the meeting.

"We've been flooded four times now. And we've been battling with the authorities over and over again regarding the culvert and the trash screen," Mr Shortt said.

He believed it had taken Monday's meeting for the authorities to take notice. But Mrs Shortt said she was "not at all confident" of any measures that might be taken immediately.

"The problem is there's so much water coming from so many different directions," she said.

"There are so many complicated issues here, that I think they'll have to go away and put together some sort of strategy in order to clear blockages."

Mr Shortt said he fully expected to have to endure a fifth flood before the authorities recognised the situation was a crisis.

His wife, who has multiple sclerosis, added: "Somebody has got to do something, we can't be left abandoned."

Mr Walker said all the matters raised in the Monday meeting would be investigated.

"I think people understand some things can be done quickly, some will take longer," he said.

He confirmed that the leader of Breckland and Norfolk County Council had written to Norfolk Strategic Flooding Alliance, asking them to carry out an investigation.

"This is the first time there's been flooding of this significance," he said.

"There hasn't been flooding like this before. It's been on a lot smaller scale."

Mr Walker added: "I don't think it is one agency's responsibility. It's the responsibility of a number of agencies, Anglian Water, Breckland, Norfolk County Council, the Environment Agency.

"We all need to work together, which is what we've committed to do today."

"I know people focussed on the culverts, on the new developments but I also think we also have to look at the capacity of the culverts and the flow from the farms and the fields," he said.

Mr Walker said staff visited Attleborough on Tuesday to look at culverts - or drains - ahead of Storm Ciarán, which is expected to bring very heavy rain and strong winds in the coming days.

"The culverts at Norwich Road are not currently blocked, but areas for improvement have been identified in the vicinity," he said.

"Works are to be undertaken to address these issues imminently."

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