RESIDENTS in Tenbury and Burford are being urged to get involved in setting the blueprint for the coming years and warned that they should take notice of the flooding in Cumbria.

Tenbury was badly hit by flooding in 2007 and 2008 but since has escaped and the issue has gone down the agenda despite attempts led by the MP Harriett Baldwin to put a scheme together.

Following the recent flood in Cumbria, Mrs Baldwin, the MP for West Worcestershire which includes Tenbury, has warned of the danger of taking the eye off the ball.

“The rains are once again with us and the scenes of flooding in the north of England remind us just how important it is to prepare for bad weather,” she said.

“Over recent years we have seen six new flood defence schemes built in West Worcestershire investing £9 million securing many homes and businesses from floods.

“Yet more money was allocated in last month’s Autumn Statement to funding future schemes and when required, I will work with the Environment Agency to put the case for funding for a permanent scheme in Tenbury.

“However there is still much to do on this project but I was pleased to see that, during the summer, the town council took steps to moving towards delivering a permanent flood defence strategy for the town.

“All year round, the Environment Agency works to keep our communities protected from sudden flooding by clearing overgrown brooks and clearing culverts of debris.”

But the Environment Agency has told Tenbury that Government rules mean that the estimated cost of at least £5 million for a flood defence scheme for Tenbury cannot be justified.

Attempts to get Tesco to commit to helping provide a flood wall ahead of their long-awaited arrival in the town with a new supermarket have also proved unsuccessful.

An idea for building a flood defence scheme in stages has been raised but engineers have warned that care would have to be taken by such an approach because solving a problem in one part of the town could make it worse in another.

Engineers have said that to successfully defend Tenbury would involve the construction of a wall around much of the town because other measures such as dredging and creating upstream storage will not work.

This has divided opinion in the town with some people believing that this is needed while others are concerned that a wall would spoil the appearance of the Tenbury and its attraction as a tourist town.

“There is still much to do and I continue to work with the Environment Agency and flood-affected communities such as Tenbury to work towards delivering permanent flood protection wherever it is required,” added Harriett Baldwin.

Mark Willis, Mayor of Tenbury, has expressed his concerns about the issue and wants people in the area to have their say in the Tenbury and Burford local plan that is out for consultation until the middle of January.

“Since 2007 we have been lucky on a number of occasions to have escaped major disruption due to flooding,” said Mark Willis.

“We need to get everyone involved and to have a chance to have their say on many topics such as flooding, housing, flooding, transport, leisure, heritage, business development and sports.”