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11.17 am
Mr. Alan Hurst (Braintree): I am pleased to be able to speak in the debate, and to follow the hon. Member for Mid Worcestershire (Mr. Luff), who chairs the Select Committee on Agriculture. I agree with much of what he has said.
I have the privilege of representing a division of the county of Essex, and, although my division has no coastline, the county has an extensive coastline, running from London to Harwich and containing many inlets, estuaries, islands and coves. The soil on which the sea dashes is very soft, and people in Essex have been mindful of the risks of flooding for many centuries.
Canvey island, of historic and sad memory, was the scene of the 1953 flood disaster, in which 59 people lost their lives. In many respects, it represents the endless struggle of mankind with the elements. The Dutch reclaimed it from the sea in the 17th century, and it has been at risk of being reclaimed by the sea ever since then.
County councillor Ray Howard is a close friend of mine, although he is a member of another political party. He represents Canvey island, and is also a member of the Essex flood defence committee. I spoke to him earlier this week. He takes a great interest in the Select Committee's deliberations, and in what we are debating today. He has served on the flood defence committee for many years, and he is well aware that the barriers on the lower Thames are being closed much more often nowadays. That suggests that tides are rising, and that we face potential further disasters. Although protection mechanisms on the Thames and on other parts of the Essex coast are much more substantial and secure than they were in the 1950s, concern remains.
Councillor Howard would perhaps differ from one aspect of the Select Committee's conclusions, as indeed I do. It is with regard to democratic representation. Although I understand the logic of seeking co-ordination through regional committees, I am fearful, as I believe
other local people are, that the elected representation serving on those committees will be diminished. If we take that away, with less involvement by those who are aware of the problems in their localities, problems are almost bound to follow.
Recently, as part of the inquiry, I, the Chairman of the Select Committee and others visited Peterborough to discuss flood warning arrangements with the Environment Agency. It showed us in embryonic form fairly advanced and complex mechanisms, whereby computerised telephone systems would effect warnings to those in areas at risk.
In many ways, I applaud such progress, but we may be a little rash in overlooking more rudimentary defence devices such as the siren. I make a special plea for the use of siren to be considered more. The advantage that it has over advanced technology is that it is not put out if a sudden storm cuts out electricity. It is there for all to see. It is dramatic. It pierces the ear. It is clear to anyone who hears it that something is afoot. If use of the siren--which is used in parts of Essex to great effect--were more widespread, we would have extra assurance.
I agree entirely with the remarks by the hon. Member for Mid Worcestershire concerning building in the flood plain. Developers have had easy incentive to go for profit because the land is normally easier to build on than more rugged or upland areas. The attraction is obvious. Local planning authorities have perhaps been a little too eager to grant those consents in those areas, some unmindful that the cost of the protection may not fall on the developer or on them, but on the state as a whole, in its various forms.
I support the remarks by the hon. Member for Mid-Worcestershire concerning strengthening the planning process. Vendors of properties should make the views of the Environment Agency as to the flood risk known to the purchaser; indeed, it should be an obligation. There should be greater liaison with insurance companies as to the risk involved when properties are built in those areas. The views and recommendations of the Environment Agency as to the flood risk should be prominent in making a local authority search. One might reach the point where that recommendation or view is endorsed on the title deeds and on the land certificate.
All those matters would be governed by the principle of caveat emptor. The purchaser would beware, so the developer would also beware if there were a risk that he could not sell the properties that he had built. It is such a easy matter for him to build the property, to take the profit and to let the cost thereafter fall on the rest of us.
I address what is now euphemistically called managed realignment; only a few months ago, it was called managed retreat. I support the view of the hon. Member for Mid Worcestershire. There is often a good case for proceeding in that way. Time does not stand still. The report refers to the fact that 21 villages in the county of Norfolk have disappeared into the sea since the 11th century, the most famous being the well-known rotten borough of Dunwich.
I have been there many times. I am always told that, in stormy weather, I should be able to hear the bells clanking from the bottom of the sea. I have not heard them yet, but I do know that that part of Dunwich is no longer there because it has gone back to the sea. However, on other
parts of the east coast--I have already mentioned Canvey island--we have reclaimed from the sea. Fenlands are reclaimed from the sea.
Mr. John Hayes (South Holland and The Deepings):
The hon. Gentleman refers to my constituency. Were it not for drainage, my constituency would not exist, or the vast bulk of it would not exist. [Interruption.] Whatever reaction that stimulates, does the hon. Gentleman agree that, as well as holding the sea back, drainage is an important part of these considerations? It is about pumping water out, as well as stopping water coming in. That is critical.
Mr. Hurst:
I am pleased to agree with the hon. Gentleman, as I often do in such less controversial matters. I am fully aware that, were Hereward the Wake alive today, he would not be able to evade the Normans as readily as he did in former times, but the hon. Gentleman is right. Were it not for the drainage patterns in those areas, any attempt to hold back the sea would be purposeless because the area would eventually flood in any event.
Where we take a view--often it is a sound view--that we should alter the line of the coast to take account of advances of the sea, as the hon. Member for Mid-Worcestershire said, it is right and proper that those who own the land adjacent thereto be properly compensated. Indeed, we need to achieve a balance between protecting rich agricultural lands, which are often found on the east coast, and preserving the natural environment as it once was.
The Ministry certainly deserves a degree of congratulation on that aspect. It has supported the European Union habitat directive, is committed to seeking to preserve sites of high scientific interest and, where that is not possible, to seeking a replacement to sites elsewhere.
There is not an inevitable conflict between farming and wildlife and habitat preservation. The two are indelibly part of the countryside. They are often perceived to be in conflict, but they are not. There is a strong case that, where society decides to draw back the line of coastal defence, the owner of the land should be properly paid for what he has given up because he is giving it up on behalf of all of us, not just on behalf of himself.
Where habitat is lost and cannot be replaced, there is also a case for compensation. The problem is that such compensation cannot be easily valued in monetary terms. We can ascertain through a land agent the price per acre of prime agricultural land, but we cannot determine so easily what the market price is of a reed bed. It is not possible to say. What would we pay for the nesting site of marsh harriers? There is no list of valuations.
That is why I am encouraged that, when there is a risk to such areas, we will seek to replace them if they cannot be preserved, but we need to ensure that those who preserve such parts of the country are not the losers, just as the landowner should not be the loser when he gives up his land to the advances of the sea.
The report has dealt with a number of issues that are highly pertinent to the important issue of coastal defence. I congratulate the hon. Member for Mid-Worcestershire on putting it forward in such a way.
11.28 am
Mr. Andrew George (St. Ives):
In view of the number of hon. Members who wish to speak in the debate, I will keep my contribution short, in the hope also that the House will enjoy two contributions from the Liberal Democrats, if time allows.
I wish to make a few remarks on the key message of the report in terms of overviewing the whole approach to coastal and flood defence, on one issue of funding that causes concern in my area and on planning.
I congratulate the hon. Member for Mid-Worcestershire (Mr. Luff) on his excellent introduction, which I entirely endorse. It has been a joy to be a member of the Select Committee on Agriculture and to produce what is a particularly pertinent, relevant and significant report, which I hope the Minister has taken on board.
I endorse the report's key message on managed realignment and the use of soft engineering. It recognises that we cannot win our battle with the sea and climate without bankrupting the country.
As the hon. Member for Mid-Worcestershire said, we cannot play King Canute with public finances and public policy. We have to accept that there are limitations to our ability to tame and control nature. Forecast sea level rises for the next 50 years of between 4 and 6 mm annually--which does not take into account the impact of other geomorphological changes--should help to concentrate the mind. Geologically, the land is moving at an alarming rate. As I explained to the Select Committee, it is perhaps symbolic that, as Cornwall is rising, England is falling.
I know that the Minister is aware that the current funding mechanism--particularly moneys from local authorities--is causing difficulties for regional flood defence committees. As we know, local authorities are under specific financial pressures. The advice of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food is that local authorities should pass on to the Environment Agency all flood levies for flood defence--exactly in line with national provision of standard spending assessments for flood defence--whereas the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions says that SSAs are a mechanism for grant distribution based on a formula on which local authorities should exercise judgment in funding priorities. The funding mechanism is a source of growing tension between local authorities and the Environment Agency, and operates in a climate in which the Environment Agency's budget for some regions, such as mine, is falling. The issue certainly has to be addressed.
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