Here’s my column on flood defences from last week’s Andover Advertiser.
It might not sound like it when you listen to politicians make promise after promise, but I’ll let you in on a secret…not everything can be controlled from Whitehall. Climate change and the floods it’s causing are some of the most profound illustrations of that. The immense power and influence of the weather is one of the most humbling things about a modern life where so many of us feel so cocooned. A situation where scientists speak of a new Anthropocene era is confusingly juxtaposed with the unnerving reality that our food security, our infrastructure, and the safety of our person and property all hang in a delicate balance. Government edict and Royal Assent will not stop the wind and rain and this is why we’re getting serious about flood defences.
North West Hampshire has had to react quickly in the last few years. Villages like Shipton Bellinger have a long history of battling floods, problems in the Bourne Valley have led to the creation of a Flood Action Group across four villages there, and Southern Water have announced major work around St Mary Bourne to protect the village from high ground water levels and surface inundation. The Environment Agency are backing the scheme and will oversee work further upstream near Hurstbourne Tarrant too. On top of this, Defra Secretary Liz Truss made £330 million available for flood defences in the region last year, with grants focused on St Mary Bourne and Deane.
Many people have their eyes firmly set on the long term and urge international concerted action on climate change. Fair enough. However, nothing that the world does right now will mitigate the danger posed to us by flooding for the next few decades. Rising sea levels, disrupted ocean currents, and strange weather patterns will mean rain fall may be higher and more sporadic and we have to adapt so that people’s homes are kept safe. That has to be a priority for the Government over the next few years.