THE impact of climate change is now taken into account in designing flood defence scheme.

It is getting wetter and the frequency of flooding is increasing.

Advertiser weather watcher Derek Small who has been recording rainfall for more than half a century has confirmed that the climate is changing.

The Environment Agency is responsible for rivers and flood defences in England and Wales.

Decisions about the building of flood defences is calculated under rules that are set down by the Government.

This is based around a formula that works out the cost benefit which involves working out how much the defence scheme will cost and a calculation of the economic benefit.

For this reason Tenbury was denied a flood defence scheme after the devastation of 2007 because the £5 million cost could not be justified.

However, there was extensive lobbying, including by Tenbury MP Harriett Baldwin, who spoke up for a scheme in parliament and last year met George Eustace, secretary of state for the environment.

This resulted in an allocation of funding to a number of areas including Tenbury that covered most of the cost and now the Environment Agency is undertaking consultations ahead of work due to start in early 2021.

But Ludlow was left out of the allocation and a local flood group has been formed.

Flood defences can take many forms.

In the case of Tenbury is will largely be made up of flood embankments and walls surrounding the town. The Environment Agency is designing the scheme and say they will take account of the character of the town.

But walls and embankments are not always necessary and other options can include the dredging of rivers and the removal of debris.

A programme of removing trees and other rubbish was undertaken in Ludlow after the flooding in 2007.

In some cases flood storage areas can be created to hold water when there has been heavy rainfall and protect towns downstream that are at risk.