Prince Charles returns to Somerset Levels to see flood relief efforts
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Version 0 of 1. Last time Prince Charles was here he was ferried in on an emergency boat and bumped along on a tractor trailer as he toured the flood-stricken Somerset Levels. On Tuesday he arrived in sedate fashion in a plushly upholstered Bentley to catch up with the recovery effort six months after much of the area became engulfed during the winter storms. "It was tough back then," said Robin Board, a farmer, as he watched the prince's motorcade arrive in Muchelney, the village that attracted headlines worldwide after being cut off by flooding for weeks. "The feeling of being trapped here was quite strange. It was frustrating only to be able to leave by boat." Another resident, Margaret Burton, who was viewing Charles's visit in the shade of the church once used as a makeshift emergency centre and store for medicine, supplies and post during the floods, added: "It was incredible. It was like living in wartime – we were totally cut off. It's great the prince has come back to see how things have moved on." On the face of it, the contrast is striking. At the peak of the flooding 25 square miles were submerged. Now cattle were grazing on the once water-covered meadows and moors, and cyclists were whizzing down roads that had turned into rivers. At the time, Environment Agency staff, and emergency workers and volunteers helped residents shore up their homes with sandbags; those whose homes were flooded were evacuated. Now there was time to stand back and consider whether the work taking place and the plans afoot would be enough to stop the place being inundated next time the storms swept in. Some residents credit the prince with "saving the day" by ratcheting up pressure on the government to help them. Charles got to the Somerset Levels in February before the prime minister, David Cameron, and the EA chairman, Chris Smith, arrived. In brown brogues rather than the wellingtons he wore back in the winter, the prince met people affected by the floods, as well as farmers and politicians, using as a venue an 800-year-old barn normally used for weddings. Louise Wilson-Ward, owner of the barn, said: "It was surreal. We didn't know when the end was in sight. Most days people just used to walk around aimlessly. But the message today is to not keep harping on about the floods, otherwise our economy is really going to suffer. If you put the word Somerset in Google, what comes up is pictures of the floods and people are avoiding the whole area. But we are open for business again." Mike and Jenny Curtis, both farmers, showed the prince around their submerged land in February. They had to flee and live with relatives but now were back. "Moving back home was so lovely," Jenny Curtis said. "We have two small children and it was so good to get back into our routine. To get the girls to pre-school we had to load them into a fire engine and make sure it was going the right way. A nightmare." A 20-year flood action plan has been drawn up by local authorities with input from the government and EA. Short-term measures have included dredging a stretch of the river Parrett, which runs through Somerset, increasing its capacity over five miles so that water is more easily drained off the Levels during floods. So far about a mile has been cleared of silt and reeds. The plan is to raise the level of some roads, including at least one connecting with Muchelney. Many residents and local politicians still want a firm government promise on investment in a barrage or sluice on the Parrett to prevent the influx of water from the Bristol channel at high tide, and the establishment of a Somerset rivers authority that could tap into the expertise of residents familiar with the complex water systems in the Levels. The government says a report on the sluice is due to be completed in September and a rivers authority is being set up. Meanwhile, a leaked communications strategy from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), seen by the Guardian, has pointed at spin over cuts to flood protection. In comments on the draft document, the EA, which is responsible for delivering flood defences, repeatedly challenges funding claims made by Defra and warns of "own goals". The document also mentions the risk that the media might "make a link between climate change [and] the risk of flooding and whether the government is doing enough to prepare". A Defra spokesman said this was a draft document that had not been seen by senior officials or ministers. Under the environment secretary, Owen Paterson, funding for adapting to global warming has been cut by 40%. On the Somerset Levels, not all the residents were as sanguine as those meeting Charles. Much of the village of Moorland, a centre of the floods, still resembled a building site, dotted with skips and workers' vans. Some uninsured residents were back home thanks to the kindness of volunteers and charitable donations. But others among the insured were still waiting for their homes to be restored due to claims delays. Bryony Sadler, who in the winter had to leave her house in Moorland, which had never flooded before, said she did not think her family would be back even by Christmas. "It's incredibly frustrating. We just want to go home." |