Castle Point MP Rebecca Harris has held an emergency meeting at the House of Commons on the flooding that has affected a number of properties across Castle Point since the big flood of 20th July.

Representatives from Castle Point Council, Essex County Council, Anglian Water and the Environment Agency attended the meeting which was held in front of senior government officials from the Department for Communities and Local Government and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, and Robin Walker MP, the Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

The agencies agreed to put extra resources into clearing the drain network around Castle Point quicker and have agreed to put out joint bulletins informing local residents about the drain clearance work scheduled in their area.

Commenting on the meeting Rebecca said:

“I am grateful to all the agencies for agreeing to meet and coming up to me in Westminster at short notice, I believed this extra meeting was urgent for my residents although

I had to be in Parliament to vote for the EU Referendum Bill”

“The storm we had on the 20th July this year was a big rainfall event but recently we have had flooding again even in normal rainfall . It is possible that the major flood of the Summer washed a lot of extra silt and rubbish into our local drainage system but clearly the network hasn’t been cleared nearly fast enough by the responsible agencies.

“I told them it was not good enough for people to live in fear every time it rains and that after two months it was not acceptable that the drain network had not been cleared.

“It was a good meeting and I am pleased to say that Anglian Water and Essex County Council agreed to put more resources into clearing the local drain network quicker.

“Castle Point Borough Council and the Environment Agency will also work together with them to publish in regular bulletins to the people of Castle Point where the remaining flooding hotspots are, what they are planning to do about it, and give as accurate idea as possible of when. They will also give information about the work they have done and the problems they have found or faced. People need to be kept as informed as possible. I have said I will continue to pass them all information I receive on areas where there is still a problem and to encourage residents to inform them of any blockages they know of even if it’s on private or business land”.