Minister insists help is coming as Shropshire counts flood cost for fourth time in three years
Flooding minister Rebecca Pow insists the government is taking floods "extremely seriously" as Shropshire counts the cost of the latest weather disaster.
Several Salopians, some of whom have had to fork out thousands of pounds to pay for repairs to their homes and businesses time and again, have been asking why more measures have not been introduced to protect them.
The county has been battered by major floods four times in three years, with communities affected from Shrewsbury down to Bridgnorth as well as across Mid Wales.
But the minister told the Shropshire Star that help is on the way in the form of several already-planned schemes, and pointed to improvements on the flood defences at Wharfage in Ironbridge as a measure that has had a significant positive impact this time.
The road design was altered and reinforcements were made to the defences last September.
"My heart goes out to everybody that has suffered flooding in their homes or businesses," said Mrs Pow. "As a government we are taking flooding extremely seriously. We've doubled our flood funding budget to £5.2 billion. It is a priority to keep people safe. That will cover over 2,000 schemes across the country.
"We are experiencing these more extreme weather events more frequently. We are taking a holistic approach."
She added: "I've been to Ironbridge this morning. Ironbridge has stood up incredibly well with the temporary barriers. Reinforcing the road and putting extra membrane in the barriers has made a real difference. One lady could not have been more full of praise for the Environment Agency for keeping them safe.
"I visited Shrewsbury in the summer and I'm getting regular updates from the local MP."
Mrs Pow also said she has met Shrewsbury MP Daniel Kawczynski this week as well as Defra Secretary of State George Eustice to talk about a holistic approach along the whole river.
"There's a big commitment to do as much as we can," she added.
On potential measures to be brought in, Mrs Pow said flood defences will be installed "where appropriate", as well as measures affecting the flow of the river.
She pointed out that £10m has been pledged to the Severn Valley Water Management scheme, a programme of measures and interventions across the upper Severn catchment to manage water and reduce flood risk to communities in the Severn Valley. That initiative will identify a mixture of wide-scale land use change, nature-based interventions and engineered solutions, working with landowners and partners across the catchment.
