Labour’s Flood Defence Schemes Paying Dividends” Councillor Eileen Cartie!

Blyth Councillor Eileen Cartie, was very pleased with the recent report from the Environment Agency surrounding the success of flood defences in protecting existing and future homes in England.

The Environment Agency has said its six year drive to create new flood defences has exceeded targets and more than 314,000 homes in England are now better protected as a result with almost 850 new flood and coastal erosion scheme being built or opened since 2015.

 

Councillor Cartie of Wensleydale Ward in Blyth, told us that “When the work planned by the last Labour administration began and we linked flood defences to planning through the County Council’s former Core Strategy document I wasn't sure of how those plans would pan out, but was assured by the then leader of Council Grant Davey, that things would grow in the right direction.”

 “ I was amazed at how rapidly matters progressed from protecting old age peoples Council bungalows in Newsham (Blyth) through to the massive defences to protect Morpeth Town, its northern bypass and Corbridge from flooding, with the Morpeth Town scheme being tested to the limit on a number of occasions since.”

“When coupled with the former core strategies planning objectives lay people, like me, in construction terms can see the changes in seaside Towns like Blyth with the insistence that new homes must be defended for the next 100 yrs from flooding with houses being built much higher to ensure protection such as the new shared ownership homes in Blyth’s public harbour area.”

 Councillor Cartie summed up her chat with us with: “It's a pity that we now have a simple‘Local Plan’ that seems dedicated to development in place as the breeding of oysters in the River Blyth estuary would have been caught up in the former core at some point and helped along and I really do hope this trial

breeding station is a success as it will aid the protection our softer seaside areas  from winter damage once the creatures find new homes off Northumberland’s shoreline.”