'Anger, frustration and tears' over Hastings flooding, says MP

Hastings and Rye MP, Sally-Ann Hart said there was ‘deep anger, frustration as well as tears’ when she visited the town centre on Saturday (October 28) following the flooding.

She said: “I visited Hastings to help co-ordinate efforts, speaking to residents and owners and managers of businesses, as well as the leaders of Hastings Borough Council and East Sussex County Council, Southern Water, and the Environment Agency.

“There is deep anger, frustration as well as tears. People’s homes and businesses have just ‘got back to normal’ after the flood on January 16. The impact is emotional as well as financial.

“The emergency services, particular the fire service, did a remarkable job in securing the area and clearing the water from the town centre, shops, homes and basements.”

She said the report on the flooding in the town centre on January 16, commissioned by East Sussex County Council as the Local Lead Flood Authority, was published on October 13.

Mrs Hart added: “Before the incident on Saturday, I had already spoken to East Sussex County Council, Southern Water and the Environment Agency and told them that the report did not go far enough; the mitigation measures suggested by the report do not look at the wider catchment area.

“It is unlikely that the mitigation measures recommended by the report would have prevented the flooding on Saturday due to the volume and velocity of water gushing from the wider water catchment area into the town centre.

“I believe that major flood attenuation works need to be carried out in the wider Hastings catchment, and certainly the Environment Agency and Southern Water concur with this view. Attenuation measures which can store the storm water, slowing the flow into the water infrastructure and reducing the peak flow of water will help reduce flooding considerably.

“Flood attenuation measures must be looked at by all agencies - East Sussex County Council, the Environment Agency, Southern Water and Hastings Borough Council - as a matter of urgency and they must work together to resolve the issue. I appreciate that we are looking at long-term measures, but this must start now.

“In the short term, the weather forecast for the next few days predicts significant rainfall and I know that people are very concerned the town centre will flood again. I am too.

“I met with representatives of Southern Water in Hastings town centre on Sunday and stressed all the agencies must work together to ensure emergency pumps are in the right place and will come onto operation, if and when needed, as well as tankering where necessary.

“I have secured a commitment from Southern Water to put in place a major over-pumping operation before Wednesday. Short-term action is required until a long-term solution is found.

“A permanent long-term solution must be found, and this requires joint action by the Environment Agency, Hastings Borough Council, East Sussex County Council, as the Local Lead Flood Authority, and Southern Water. I have already called for such action following the flooding on January 16 and will continue to push the agencies to work together to do this.”

An East Sussex County Council spokesperson said: “We know the devastation flood water can cause, and we are very sorry residents and businesses in Hastings have been affected by flooding again.

“As Lead Local Flood Authority, East Sussex County Council commissioned independent consultants to gather evidence and identify the causes of the January flood.

“This investigation required surveys and hydraulic modelling to understand what happened, as this is a complex urban drainage system. Inevitably this took time although the county council published its interim findings in May of this year.

“The final report into January’s event identifies a number of causes of the flooding and we are pleased that partners have agreed to prioritise corrective measures.”