The impact of flooding across the Mid Bedfordshire constituency has been absolutely devastating for some in our local communities and I am determined to make sure people can recover and that the response to flooding is much better in the future. That’s why I am delighted to have secured an adjournment debate in the House of Commons, where the House will debate the local response to flooding in Bedfordshire and consider how we can be better prepared in the future.
Many people may not think of Mid Bedfordshire as an obvious place for flooding, given there are no major rivers beyond the River Flit. But we are an area with soil types ranging from thin dandy soil to poorly-draining clay soil and so many of our towns, villages and hamlets across the entire constituency have been affected. And I do feel that if properties had been flooded in a more concentrated urban environment, rather than spread out across our Bedfordshire countryside we would have seen far greater media and Government attention.
Residents affected by flooding absolutely have to be at the heart of any lessons learned and that’s why I urged people across Mid Bedfordshire to share their experiences with me. While I am still drafting a report from that survey, there are already several key issues being raised by local people; the need for better maintained drainage systems, concerns over rapid housing growth without appropriate infrastructure, and disappointment over the poor design of the A421.
Similar issues will apply to areas suffering flooding outside of Mid Bedfordshire, and indeed outside of Bedfordshire. The A421 is a major and busy road used to transport freight and by commuters from across Bedfordshire, as well as residents living in neighbouring Buckinghamshire and Cambridgeshire. It is simply astounding that it was built in a way that would flood so easily. The road was closed for weeks, and while I have to praise the efforts of National Highways for working around the clock to re-open it, it is
shocking that vital national infrastructure could be so fallible to flooding. As the Government seeks to build similar infrastructure in the future, we must heed the warnings of the A421 and build it in a way that is protected not from the flooding of yesterday; but the flooding of tomorrow.
My constituents who raised concerns around the impact of new developments simply must be heard if the Government is planning on increasing the level of house building across the country. The village of Maulden in my constituency has seen development creep gradually up the slope of the Greensand Ridge and that incremental impact means water has fewer places to stop and soak away, so it surges down into the village. The flooding infrastructure for these new developments might in theory be sufficient to justify development, but planning is simply failing to cope with the demands placed on it by multiple and interconnected developments, which is piling pressure onto our networks and our natural environment.
I would like to see reforms to the planning system which would require flooding authorities to take a wider systems view of the impact of developments and ensure that planning reforms don’t prioritise reckless housing growth over the lives of people in current housing stock.
One of the most eye-opening moments of the recent flooding for me was in Wixams in my constituency. Wixams is a new town, just 17 years old, and you would expect it to be built with the appropriate infrastructure to deal with recent rainfall. Incredibly, the drains and sewers were overloaded with surface flood water. It will be no solace for the people of Wixams but we absolutely have to learn the lessons from this new town, if the Government is seriously going to put a rocket-booster behind house building and new towns in the coming years.
It is clear that infrastructure and housing growth are going to be key to how we prevent the devastation and disruption we have seen across Mid Bedfordshire from happening again. Re-wilding and nature-based solutions need to be considered so we capture water and absorb some of the worst impacts of flooding. The Bedford-Milton Keynes Waterway Park is a great local example of a project which has the potential to remove water during flooding and we must press ahead and deliver that at pace. This infrastructure, along with making sure we have the appropriate drainage, and importantly maintained drainage systems, can help alleviate some of the issues we have seen in recent weeks. But I urge the Government to take a much wider review into measures to support communities at risk of flooding in the future, and to remember that rural areas are impacted by flooding too.
