Speaking in a Senedd debate on the Assembly Sustainability Committee report into flooding in Wales, William Graham AM said:
‘There is a clear need to provide clarity in the responsibilities of the authorities involved in flood and coastal erosion risk management. Many of the Committee’s recommendations are in urgent need of implementation to provide communities with the protection they will require if predictions that water levels in the Severn Estuary and Bristol Channel could rise by a metre over the next twenty become a reality.’
The Conservative AM for South Wales East continued:
‘Although it is welcome that the Assembly Government has accepted the need for a new agency to become a single point of contact for information and advice on flooding, greater steps can be taken to reduce the impact of future floods in Wales.’
‘It is disappointing that the Environment Minister has rejected the Committee’s recommendation that TAN 15 is redrafted to ensure flood risk is better reflected in the planning process.’
‘Having seen at first hand the technical expertise of the Caldicot & Wentlooge Internal Drainage Board (IDB), it is disappointing that the chance to establish IDBs on a Wales Wide basis has also been rejected. There is considerable potential for IDBs to extend their operations beyond their present catchment into low lying urban areas reducing the burden upon stretched Local Authority resources.’
