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Flood and Water Management Bill

I support the amendments in this grouping, particularly those which try to ensure that local landowners and farmers are consulted in devising these strategies. The Committee would probably expect me to support them, and I reiterate my interests as a farmer and landowner. It is perhaps not quite so important in connection with the national flood and coastal erosion risk management strategy, although anyone drawing up such a plan without consulting the experts at the CLA and the NFU would be very remiss. As an ex-chairman of the CLA water committee, I was always amazed at the sheer weight of watery knowledge, including on coastal erosion, which was available from the members of that committee. However, where consultation with the farmers and landowners is vital is at the local level. What happens to the rain after it lands on the soil, how the land is best drained and how floods are best avoided in each and every area—those require a lifetime of experience and often, indeed, more than a lifetime of experience. While I was writing these remarks, they reminded me of Arthur, who was an old boy in our village. I suspect that every farm and village has one who has inherited the knowledge of previous generations. Whenever a drain or a piped stream went wrong, and water was bubbling up everywhere, the cry went out: "Where’s Arthur? He’s the one who will know how this thing works and how we can solve the problem". Sure enough, Arthur was sent for; sure enough, he knew exactly how it all worked. It also occurred to me that Arthur is, as they say in Somerset, now long gone. I am afraid that I have a deep suspicion that the "old boy" that they now call on is probably me, which is not an accolade I would necessarily wish to take on. Getting back to my point, any local flood risk strategy that ignores the knowledge and experiences of local farmers and landowners, or that fails to acknowledge their interest as food producers, would be seriously lacking, so I strongly support these amendments.