At last night’s Isle of Wight Council (IWC) Cabinet meeting, Michael Lilley (LibDem), the councillor Ryde Appley and Elmfield, which was badly affected by flooding over the past fortnight, posed a number of questions on behalf of his residents.
The Environment Agency has stated that their investigations are still underway into what happened with the flood defences at the Simeon Recreation Ground in Ryde. In the meantime Councillor Lilley was keen to seek answers for his residents.
He asked whether the IWC Cabinet was officially holding the Environment Agency to account over concerns raised by residents that the Simeon Recreation Ground Flood defences were not manually installed properly, leading to the severeness of the flooding.
He also asked whether IWC was planning pursue full compensation for residents from the Environment Agency if it is clearly proved there was human error on their part.
Lilley: Residents I speak to feel abandoned, not listened to
The councillor also asked whether IWC would be raising concerns about the sewage overflow releases onto Ryde beaches daily from 24th October to 9th November 2023 – citing the potential of environmental implications for residents. He added that some residents had reported seeing raw sewage floating into their homes.
Keen to know whether there was a Flooding Recovery Package in place to support the affected residents and how it was being communicated to residents, he added,
“Residents I speak to feel abandoned, not listened to and feel IWC does not understand their anxiety about the months or years of recovery facing them, as they try to rebuild their lives.”
Jordan: Committed to helping residents recover
Leader of the Isle of Wight council, Phil Jordan, replied,
“We are absolutely behind our residents who have suffered so badly and insofar as this council are able to provide help and support, we will do so in due course.”
We then read out a prepared response,
“We are committed to helping residents recover from the recent event. This includes providing not only information and advice, but also the coordination and provision of financial and other support to those households that have been directly impacted by flooding.”
Grant funding is coming
Councillor Jordan told members that Government have confirmed there is grant funding coming and it will be a priority for the council to make sure that is delivered “as soon as we possibly can” to those people that suffered.
The leader went on to confirm that Councillor Karen Lucioni is the cabinet lead for emergency planning response and recovery, and that Councillor Paul Fuller is taking the lead role in respect of preparing for and responding to flooding events.
He added that both cabinet members have been working hard to support the affected communities over the last two weeks and will continue to lead on the community recovery effort and the council’s work on formal flood investigations.
Jordan: Make sure you report flooding to EA and SW
In respect of financial support, Councillor Jordan stated,
“Working with the town councils and voluntary agencies, we now have a full list of those affected in Ryde and other areas, including those in most need of support.
“We’ve received confirmation from Government that we can access the flood recovery grants, and will provide more detail on this for households as soon as we can. It’s a priority for us.
“Alongside accessing grant support we will be developing packages of support, and associated on-the-ground advice, and looking to make this as efficient a process as possible to ensure households can access this quickly and effectively. One particular request I would make is to ensure that all households that have been flooded inform the Environment Agency and Southern Water as this will enable access to support from those agencies.”
He added that the council would provide written responses to Councillor Lilley’s questions.
Lilley: Some families that have lost everything
Councillor Lilley confirmed that the Leader’s response gave him some comfort. He added,
“There are some families that have lost everything and perhaps some of the grant money will not cover the replacement and that some of the situations are quite complex with people having short term tenancies, having to spend a long time in hotels or other accommodation.”
Lilley: Not everyone fits into a box or meet all the statutory requirements
Councillor Lilley pressed for an holistic, kind way for people to get through the difficulties. Adding that not everyone fits into a box or meets all the statutory requirements, but do need help.
He spoke of families with children, pregnant women, left without the basics.
“There has been a lot of generosity from the community and there is a fund that’s being established that I am working with other people, that complements the council grants, to give a boost of extra support.”
The leader said he hoped that some of the investigation and review of the situation will identify, where if there were gaps, they can be filled.
