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Flooding (Morpeth)

I am grateful to the House for allowing me to discuss the very serious flooding that occurred in Morpeth over the weekend of 5 and 6 September. I am pleased to see the right hon. Member for Berwick-upon-Tweed (Sir Alan Beith) in his place. He introduced a similar debate in this House on Monday evening. While other parts of the north-east of England were affected by the most intensive rainfall in living memory, the town of Morpeth was devastated. Morpeth has a population of about 19,000. It is located in the heart of Northumberland and lies in the valley of the River Wansbeck. It was a thriving market town and is the home of the administrative headquarters of Castle Morpeth borough council and Northumberland county council. The first indications that anything was amiss came with a warning from the Environment Agency on the afternoon of 5 September that a flood watch would be issued for Morpeth and Ponteland from 1 am on Saturday 6 September. Early indications predicted an event similar to that which occurred in 2005. Although river levels were high and gave cause for serious concern in 2005, no properties were damaged. However, it became clear on the Saturday, following a period of unprecedented rainfall, which equated to three times the monthly average falling in just 48 hours, that a very dramatic event was unfolding. From 8 o'clock on the Saturday morning, the water levels were already much higher than in the 2005 event, and torrential rain was still falling with no signs of abatement. Indeed, from 9 am, the pleasure boats that were moored in the River Wansbeck and should have played an important part in the subsequent evacuations were being overwhelmed and were sinking. Staff from Castle Morpeth council were fully stretched in closing off roads and attempting to sandbag vulnerable areas. The whole of Northumberland was awash. Villages were being cut off and numerous roads were closed. The emergency services were at full stretch. At 12 noon on Saturday, Gold Command was called and 15 minutes later the first evacuations started. The rescue helicopter from RAF Bulmer, the RNLI, the fire and rescue services from Northumberland and Tyne and Wear, the police, council staff and residents worked throughout the day and night to ensure that everyone was rescued. There was no loss of life. This was due in the main to the skill and dedication of all the people I have mentioned, but also to the spirit and courage of a number of friends and neighbours who acted quickly to evacuate the most vulnerable to places of safety. The Environment Agency played an important role in the early flood warning system. For the majority of those registered under the scheme, it worked very well. Five hundred and twenty three homes were contacted with a warning. For the residents of the Middle Greens area of Morpeth, it did not work at all. There are more than 300 homes in that area, which is situated next to the river. Of those, 198 homes were registered under the scheme, but for them the system failed completely. I have met the Environment Agency's new chairman Lord Smith and Ian Hodge from the region, who inform me that they have changed their procedure. The previous system divided Morpeth into a number of separate areas and issued warnings depending on the perceived risk. Middle Greens' warning was not physically activated by an operator. In the light of that mistake, they have taken action to ensure that that will never happen again. In future, all the registered areas in Morpeth will receive the same warning at the same time. The flood damage to Morpeth was extensive and devastating, with 1,012 properties affected—913 residential and 89 commercial. A total of 714 were privately owned, and of those 562 were seriously affected. Of those seriously affected, more than 300 households are currently displaced, and that number is rising daily. There are more than 30 properties where drying has not even commenced. Some 172 properties are owned by registered social landlords, and of those 150 are seriously affected. A total of 90 households are currently displaced, but it is accepted that that number will rise to 150. Tragically, of those numbers, 112 households are known to have no insurance cover at all. Among the worst affected buildings were essential community assets, such as the ambulance station, a large doctor's surgery, the library and the leisure centre. It is to the great credit of Castle Morpeth borough council that on Sunday morning, as soon as the water levels began to drop, it started the physical clean-up. On the same day, Gold Command handed over the ongoing work to Castle Morpeth. It set up the Castle Morpeth community recovery and restoration group, which has since adopted the name Springboard. It is a multi-agency partnership and it has been set up to assist the affected community, and to manage its recovery and restoration. Drawing on the experience of other severely affected flood areas is of prime concern to the partnership. Best practice has been the driving force. Ascertaining that everyone in the affected area was safe and well was done without the need to affect forced entry into any of the properties. Morpeth now faces huge challenges. Many of the shops remain closed for restoration work, which is affecting those businesses that are still trading. Many are struggling to survive at present, and are eager to get the message out that Morpeth is still open for business. To compound the problem, car parking is becoming increasingly problematic. The residential streets are narrow and easily congested. A loss of car parking owing to flood-related issues is further compounded by a massive increase in builders' vehicles and skips. That in turn is acting against efforts to attract additional footfall into the town to support the existing retail trade. Homelessness is expected to rise. About 400 households are currently displaced, and many of those people are staying with family and friends. From experience elsewhere, I know that that is unsustainable in the long term. The supply of temporary and emergency accommodation is virtually exhausted. Long-term contingencies are urgently required and I look to the Government to assist in the funding of those contingencies.