DESPITE the doubts expressed by Tenbury Mayor Mark Willis the town’s MP Harriett Baldwin wants people from the town to speak out about the need for a flood defence scheme.

The MP whose West Worcstershire constituency includes Tenbury, has repeated calls for Tenbury residents to speak up on the need for permanent flood defences.

Tenbury Town Council town council is planning to run a consultation on Thursday, October 9 to find out people’s view on permanent flood defences and will present the latest Environment Agency proposals.

She met with town’s mayor Mark Willis and the Environment Agency last month (August) to set out a plan for identifying local views on flood defences.

The town faced serious flooding in 2007 and has been threatened on several occasions in the following years, and homes and businesses have had to rely on new measures to protect individual properties such as flood gates.

At the moment no funding is available to build a permanent solution that would meet cost-benefit criteria and local properties owners have been given grants to put individual flood protection on their homes and businesses. Ninety six properties have taken up this offer out of 168 eligible properties.

“There is no budget allocated at the moment, but I am happy to help make the case for future funding if local people think they do want a permanent solution to this perennial problem,” said Harriett Baldwin.

“It may be that some parts of the strategic plan can be built over a number of years by breaking it into sections and once this consultation is complete, I have agreed to meet again with the Mayor and the Environment Agency to discuss the issue in more detail.”

Mark Willis, Mayor of Tenbury, has expressed doubts about the practicality of a scheme that would not involve building an ugly wall around the town.