WEST WORCESTERSHIRE MP Dame Harriett Baldwin confirmed that the Tenbury Wells’s permanent flood defence scheme remains on the list of future projects following a meeting with Flooding Minister Emma Hardy MP and Environment Agency chief executive Phillip Duffy.
The trio met to agree a way forward following news that the scheme has been officially paused while funding is identified to start the project.
The Government plans to consult on how schemes are funded later this year and Dame Harriett will be helping to make the case to find alternative funding streams.
But she was also updated on alternative plans to improve individual property protection and the current challenges ensuring that every property is able to access support.
The MP has pledged to work with Malvern Hills District Council to identify ways of allowing building improvements within a conservation area.
And she also invited both the Minister and the Environment Agency chief to visit the town to see how the project to improve resilience is progressing.
Dame Harriett said: “I’ve had a series of constructive meetings with the people who can make schemes move forward and it is important that we continue to press for the fully funded permanent scheme.
“But there is also a clear commitment to do something to help properties in the town which have flooded, to improve their resilience, and I am doing what I can to unblock any obstacles slowing this work down..
“The message from the Minister is that Tenbury is not forgotten and I will do all I can to speak up for this scheme and whatever else we can do to help defend people from the next flood.”
