Whalley's MP meets Environment Agency to discuss flooding

The summit came after local Conservatives Ged Mirfin and Mark Hindle accused him of "snubbing" local activist Andrew Ronnan on the issue, something he denied.

Accrington engineer Michael Ashworth has also asked the Environment Agency to look again at removing a weir on the River Calder which he thinks will ease the problem, but which the agency said would make no impact.

Local residents, including the Whalley and Billington Flood Action Group (FLAG) have been calling for greater flood defences since the devastating flooding on Boxing Day 2015 and that caused by Storm Ciara in 2020.

Mr Hinder said tackling flooding is a key priority Pendle and Clitheroe Labour MP Mr Hinder visited at-risk sites in Whalley and Billington with Ms Holt to view mitigations already in place and discussed different project options and possible funding sources.

After the meeting, he said: “It was a very constructive meeting.

"Many residents have told me about how they fear similar flooding happening again in Whalley and Billington.

"I was glad of the opportunity to put those concerns directly to the Environment Agency and discuss the possible solutions.

"I am looking forward to working with the Environment Agency, and Whalley and Billington Flood Action Group, to secure much-needed flood defences, so that we never see a repeat of Boxing Day 2015 and Storm Ciara in 2020."

In October, Whalley's Lancashire County Cllr Mirfin and its Ribble Valley borough representative Cllr Hindle accused Mr Hinder of refusing to meet FLAG director Mr Ronnan in the villages to discuss possible flood protection measures.

Floods in 2015 and 2020 devastated Whalley Mr Hinder called the claims "laughable" and said he has been in contact with Mr Ronnan and the FLAG, with stopping flooding one of his key priorities.

The Tory duo are campaigning for the Environment Agency to stump up £20 million to protect Whalley and nearby Billington along the lines of its recent award of £19m to boost flood defences in Padiham.

Meanwhile, Accrington's Mr Ashworth believes solving the issues is "simple" and resolves around one weir, a claim Mr Ronnan and the Environment Agency have rubbished.

Mr Ashworth said: "There is a simple answer to stop Whalley flooding.

"All that is required is to remove the weir on the River Calder, this will mean the water from the large catchment area that runs from Colne to Accrington (280 square miles) will not reach the flooding level."

Jonathan Hinder has met with flood campaigners In response to that claim, an Environment Agency spokesperson said: “We have assessed the impact of removing existing weirs in Padiham and Whalley using hydraulic modelling during previous Flood Risk Management Scheme appraisals.

“The proposed removals were shown to have no significant impact in reducing flood risk to the affected communities."

Mr Ronnan added: "The harsh reality is that there are no simple answers.

"Most of Whalley’s and Billington’s properties at risk are now more flood resilient but nevertheless, we still hope to see significant investment from the EA for further flood defence expenditure designed by qualified experts."