FLOOD GRANTS WELCOME BUT LIMITED

Written by SUSAN KRAMER MP on Fri 24th Aug 2007

Last Week the Department of Communities and Local Government approved grants to local councils under the Flood Recovery Grant scheme.

Local Councils received the following; Richmond £20,000 and Kingston £11,500, however Susan Kramer MP for Richmond Park said " The grants are welcome but the amounts are very small in fact only enough to offset a small part of the operational costs of coping."

"More significantly the Government had not tackled the underlying problem of sorting out fundamental failures in the sewage system."

"I met last week with Thames Water and will shortly get an update on reviews of the two most problematic areas in the constituency, the Malden underpass in Kingston and Castelnau in Barnes."

"Greater clarity in who is responsible to what would also make a difference. It is time to reconsider appointing local councils as agents to inspect drains and sewers, a role they previously held before Thames Water was privatized."

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