Monday, April 21, 2008

Gilberdyke Flood Action Group obtains £7,800 funding

Gilberdyke Parish Council's Flood Action Group has been successful in accessing £7,800 of Government funding through the East Riding of Yorkshire Council. This money will be spent to commission consulting engineers to: Investigate and determine exactly what the drainage problems are in Gilberdyke before coming up with an action plan and recommendations to prevent future flooding in the village.

Since the flooding last June some works and essential maintenance have been carried out on the various watercourses and drainage dykes around the village, although a lot more remains to be done. Relevant agencies have been encouraged to adopt regular timetables for continued maintenance and improvements.

Questions continue to be raised with the Lower Ouse Internal Drainage Board (LOIDB) regarding the “ring fenced” monies being held for the maintenance of the pumps for pumping excess water from the dyke which takes some of the water from the M62 to the River Ouse. The group felt disappointed that the £1.4million application to Central Government was turned down leaving Gilberdyke in pretty much the same situation as before the floods. The group are also frustrated that the LOIDB are not able to use the ring fenced money for pumping the M62 water which flows through and contributes to the flooding in Gilberdyke, rather than just that water running down the one dyke to the west of the village.

It is anticipated that the recommendations for future action will include the reopening of filled in dykes and watercourses particularly in Scalby Lane, Station Road, Westbrook Road/Crescent and surrounds. The contentious issue of Riparian Ownership of dykes and watercourses will also be addressed.

The group has already received a lot of valuable information from residents regarding the extent of the floods and the layout of the drainage systems in and around the village. It is intended that this information will be used as a basis for improving the existing drainage and to reduce the risk of flooding in the future.

The group intends to hold a public meeting once the consultants report has been received.

The next meeting of the Gilberdyke Flood Action Group is to be held at the White Horse Pub on Monday 21st April at 7.30pm.

Saturday, April 19, 2008

Radio 4 - 'You and Yours' composting item

On Wednesday 16th April 2008 the BBC Radio 4 program 'You and Yours' ran the story of the problems experienced with East Riding Composters, to listen again please go to the following link:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/youandyours/items/01/2008_16_wed.shtml

Many thanks to the BBC journalists, especially Shari Vahl for bringing this issue to the attention of the wider public.