ICF Signs Open Letter to Prime Minister on Flood Prevention
ICF have joined 17 organisations in signing an open letter to the Prime Minister, calling for a strategy to prevent future flooding.
The letter entitled ‘Open Letter with regard Water Management in England and Wales’, was written by Sue Illman, President of the Landscape Institute to the Prime Minister, and co-signed by a range of environmental and planning organisations including ICF.
Floods ‘could have been prevented’
The letter says:
“A comprehensive range of water management techniques could have helped prevent the effect of water through villages, towns and over the surrounding land seen in the last few weeks.
“This will require the co-operation coordination not only between the professions, but with the Water Companies, Internal Drainage Boards, local authorities, the Environment Agency, and Natural Resources Wales, all working alongside landowners and residents if the outcome is to be effective.”
The letter calls for a cross-departmental conference, to provide ‘the best and most suitable outcome to both society and the affected communities.
A succession of violent storms since December have resulted in some of the worst flooding Britain has seen in recent times. In England alone, more than 5,000 properties have been damaged, with Somerset in particular inundated with 3.2 billion cubic feet of water over 25 square miles.
Foresters and arboriculturists join environmental and planning professionals in their concern about current water management practices. While the debate continues about the role of trees and forest management in flood prevention, concern is also mounting about the deforestation effect of this flooding.
