Catherine Burbage - 20-Mar-2007
- The Environment Agency, in conjunction
with the police and King's Lynn and West
Norfolk Borough Council, has issued a Precautionary
Evacuation Notice (PEN) today 20/03/2007
at 09:45 for caravans and properties that
lie between the two sea defences on the
Norfolk Coast between Snettisham and Hunstanton.
The PEN has been issued because the combination
of the high tide due at 19:14 today and
weather conditions could result in flooding
in the area. People should leave caravans
and properties in the area between the hours
of 16:14 20/3/2007 and 22:15 20/03/207 and
not return until it is safe to do so. Please
remember to take any medication, pets and
anything urgent you may require in the next
48hours with you.
If a rest centre is required then one will
be opened a couple of hours before high
water is due. For rest centre details please
contact the Borough Council on 01553 616287.
The evacuation is a precautionary measure,
but should be followed so that if there
is a flood, emergency services are not put
at risking trying to find people who have
stayed in their homes. For further information
and booklets on how to prepare for flooding
and what to do if you are flooded, call
Floodline Tel 0845 988 1188.
Flood Warnings and Severe Flood Warnings
will continue to be issued if they become
necessary. Anyone in a flood risk area should
tune into local radio and TV to keep updated
with the situation.
The purpose of the PEN is to give people
at risk enough time to leave their homes
in a planned way while it's still light.
The PEN is issued to allow an orderly and
safe evacuation.
The caravans and properties in this area
are particularly at risk because they are
located between an outer and an inner set
of sea defences. Any breach of the outer
set will result in the caravans being flooded.
Due to the large numbers of caravans and
properties in the risk area a great deal
of time is required to evacuate the area
safely.
Information on flood warnings in force
can be found on the Environment Agency's
website at: www.environment-agency.gov.uk
or by telephoning Floodline on 0845 988
1188, selecting option one and entering
a quickdial number. The quickdial number
for Snettisham, Heacham and Hunstanton flood
warning area is: 034113
+ More
"Four pillars" for sustainable
housing growth announced by Environment
Agency
Head Office Press Office - 19-Mar-2007
- "Four pillars" for sustainable
housing growth announced by Environment
Agency.
Attention must be given to the "four
pillars" for sustainable housing growth
or essential environmental services, such
as water and sewerage infrastructure and
flood protection, may begin to fail, according
to the Environment Agency.
In two related reports released today,
the Environment Agency sets out the need
for the Government, regional assemblies,
local authorities and developers to follow
the "four pillars": get the location
right, plan for the longer term, reduce
demand for new infrastructure, and secure
funding for environmental infrastructure
early.
Hidden Infrastructure: The pressures on
environmental infrastructure, and the supporting
policy report, also highlights the cost
of providing environmental services to cope
with the development of new housing. Taking
into account population and demographic
changes, an average of £20,000 will
be needed for each new home in the south
east of England to protect water quality
and provide water, waste management and
flood protection.
Chief Executive Barbara Young said towns
and cities needed to expand in the future,
and growing communities must have the right
environmental infrastructure to support
them.
"While we all know that communities
can't function without infrastructure such
as schools, transport and hospitals, we
have to remember that behind every community
lies a network of essential environmental
services. Without these, our homes and neighbourhoods
would be unsustainable. These services provide
clean water, handle our waste, drain our
sewage and protect us from flooding but
they are often taken for granted,"
Barbara Young said.
"Our research suggests it could cost
about £20,000 for each new home in
the south east to support housing growth
and protect the environment. But by following
the four pillars - which focus on development
being in the right place, well designed
and built for the long term, as well as
the need for greater resource efficiency
- this may drive down the cost.
"There has been a historic legacy
of under-investment and poor maintenance
in water and sewer capacity. Last year,
nearly 5000 properties were flooded by sewers
and more than 3500 million litres of water
a day was lost through leaks. There is an
urgent need to reduce the amount of waste
going to landfill and the unavoidable impacts
of climate change will increase the risk
of flooding.
"New growth can be achieved without
harming the environment, but with all of
these pressures, early investment and careful
planning is critical - or we risk seeing
our environmental infrastructure beginning
to fail."
The Environment Agency has already worked
with the Government in making sure the environmental
infrastructure to support new homes is adequate.
Barbara Young said: "It was important
to work with the Government on the assessments
of the New Growth Point submissions last
year, as it allowed environmental issues
to be identified at the earliest possible
stage.
"Initial assessments of the 29 New
Growth Points showed environmental constraints
and demand for additional environmental
infrastructure. Flood risk was an issue
in 80% of cases, there was a lack of sewerage
capacity for 72%, and potential breaches
in water quality standards for 62%.
"Early assessment allowed proper conditions
for meeting these infrastructure needs to
be applied. On occasions, it may be difficult
to accommodate further growth because of
the impact on the environment," Barbara
Young said.
In its policy report, the Environment Agency
calls for a number of actions to be taken
to help deliver successful new housing and
protect the environment, including:
25-year planning for sewerage and wastewater
infrastructure that look beyond the usual
five-year planning horizon
Reform of the charges that developers pay
for connecting domestic properties to water
and sewerage services for the first time.
The charges could be designed to help provide
incentives for more water efficient housing
A wide range of funding options to be considered
through Section 106 planning agreements,
the proposed Planning Gain Supplement and
the next 2009 Water Price Review
The acceleration of water metering in water
stressed areas and the potential use of
targets for water efficiency that help to
drive more efficient and sustainable use
of water resources
Better forecasting of new housing development
(that accounts for growth area and new growth
point proposals) in water company plans
Rigorous assessments of the environmental
impacts and the viability of infrastructure
dependent solutions before plans for growth
are adopted
Rigorous application of the new planning
policy guidance on development and flood
risk (PPS 25) that should steer development
towards areas of lowest flood risk first.
Hidden Infrastructure: The pressures on
environmental infrastructure and the Environment
Agency policy report are available at www.environment-agency.gov.uk
Ends
Fact file:
£20,200 - the expected cost for each
new home in the south east of England for
environmental infrastructure, including
£5400 for flood risk management, £1700
for water resource and supply, £13,000
for water quality and £100 for waste.
£20,200 is the average cost for environmental
infrastructure and comes from the Environment
Agency (2007): A strategy for provision
of environmental infrastructure to meet
the ends of the SE plan
£7.5 billion - the cost of providing
sewage treatment for the new housing proposed
under the South East Plan over the next
20 years (Environment Agency (2007): A strategy
for provision of environmental infrastructure
to meet the ends of the SE plan)
£230 billion - the value of property
and assets in England and Wales located
in the floodplain
200 litres per person per day - the amount
of water that each person in the south east
may be using by 2030, up from 150 litres
per person per day today.
Environment Agency invites contributions
to Isle of Wight flood plans
Ruth Noden - 19-Mar-2007 - Environment
Agency invites contributions to Isle of
Wight flood plans
The Environment Agency is inviting people
concerned about flood risk in the Isle of
Wight to help identify how it can be managed.
The Environment Agency has completed a
scoping report for the Isle of Wight Catchment
Flood Management Plan. This report is now
available for public consultation.
Catchment Flood Management Plans are large-scale
plans that explore and identify how flood
risk for an entire river catchment can be
managed long-term. The Isle of Wight Flood
Management Plan covers the whole island.
The plan is in the scoping report stage.
This stage will help the Environment Agency
fully understand flood risk in the catchment.
It will also allow anyone with an interest
in the area to contribute to the plan. All
comments must be received by 8th June 2007.
Tim Kermode, Flood Risk Manager for Hampshire
and Isle of Wight said: "This report
has been compiled in partnership with a
number of organisations to further understand
the Isle of Wight and flood risk. An important
part of this report is public consultation
and we encourage residents of the area to
express their views and concerns for the
Isle of Wight. We welcome all contributions
and comments.
"After a three-month consultation
period, the next stage of the plan is to
assess the best management options for the
area. With further work and understanding
we aim to adopt a set of policies that will
enable us to manage flood risk effectively
and reduce flood risk for people, property
and the environment."
Members of the public can inspect copies
of the scoping report at the following libraries;
Bembridge Library, Cowes Library, East Cowes
Library, Freshwater Library, Lord Louis
Library (Newport), Ryde Library, Sandown
Library, Shanklin Library and Ventnor Library.
A copy is also available on our website
at http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk
(search using Isle of Wight CFMP).
Anyone wishing to consult on the Isle of
Wight Flood Management should write to Joss.carter@environment-agency.gov.uk
or Regional Strategic and Development Planning,
Environment Agency, Guildbourne House, Chatsworth
Road, Worthing, West Sussex, BN11 1LD. Comments
should be sent by 8th June 2007.
