I can't let this story go unremarked
Christopher Booker in the Sunday Telegraph:
The comments are well worth a read if sorted by "best" - and paint a truly lamentable portrait of the antics of the management and appallingly negligent stewardship of the Somerset Levels by the EA - as related it would seem by people with relevant knowledge and experience in land drainage.
And Paul Homewood dissects the lies and misdirection gushing from EA-PR about flooding in the Somerset Levels - with actual evidence....
"Farmers in Somerset" held a demonstration on Sunday - something that the BBC chose not to give much coverage to = see if you can find it quickly in this online piece.. - contrast the treatment of people who have their houses flooded and livelihoods severely damaged with the coverage given to anti-fracking in Manchester - where there's not even any fracking going on.....
EDIT:
The BBC can't ignore it now and have had to cover it:
See Here although they still give the EA an easy ride (less so Owen Paterson though...).
And Paul Homewood dissects the lies and misdirection gushing from EA-PR about flooding in the Somerset Levels - with actual evidence....
"Farmers in Somerset" held a demonstration on Sunday - something that the BBC chose not to give much coverage to = see if you can find it quickly in this online piece.. - contrast the treatment of people who have their houses flooded and livelihoods severely damaged with the coverage given to anti-fracking in Manchester - where there's not even any fracking going on.....
EDIT:
The BBC can't ignore it now and have had to cover it:
 |
| Some complaining farmers in Somerset |
There are those (and they include a former EA chairmanperson and pointless quango queen Baroness Barbara Young - present EA "CEO" Paul Leinster's boss... apparently ) who argue that the only truly ‘sustainable’ solution would be to close the pumping stations, breach the flood banks and allow the waters to spill out over the flood plain whenever rainfall and tides dictate. This, they claim, would allow the flood plain to do the job it is supposed to do, spreading the floodwaters over a wider area and creating in the process a paradise for wetland birds and plants.
Read more: http://www.westernmorningnews.co.uk/Commons-debate-cost-flooding-Somerset-Levels/story-20453023-detail/story.html#ixzz2rcdeAxrO
Read more: http://www.westernmorningnews.co.uk/Commons-debate-cost-flooding-Somerset-Levels/story-20453023-detail/story.html#ixzz2rcdeAxrO
So - Bab's boys n girls at the EA flooded the Somerset Levels by neglect. Doesn't stop them pocketing millions every year for "maintenance" though eh?
____________________________________________
Trivia: To carry out its field duties, the EA operates a fleet of 4,747 company cars funded on contract hire with full maintenance. In addition the EA run 1,920 badged 4x4s - according to Inside the Environment Agency there's abuse of fleet vehicles and sub-optimal utilisation is well, not unknown.... it ticks off farmers seeing them trundling around in new 4*4 s as well... - cue what poor farmers? jibes:-)
That's nearly 7000 vehicles (plus trucks) - that's more than one official vehicle for every two employees... which does seem quite high - no?
They did have an electric car though... wonder how that's going?
EDIT:EDIT
Been over at The Guardian and had some oddness in the comments on this article - not that bothered - but surprised at the apparent arbitrariness of the chopping - some stuff I thought close to the knuckle (eventually) sailed through, some other stuff simply conversational = pfffttt.... I really wonder if some other commenters are sacred cows ... whatever...
That's nearly 7000 vehicles (plus trucks) - that's more than one official vehicle for every two employees... which does seem quite high - no?
They did have an electric car though... wonder how that's going?
EDIT:EDIT
Been over at The Guardian and had some oddness in the comments on this article - not that bothered - but surprised at the apparent arbitrariness of the chopping - some stuff I thought close to the knuckle (eventually) sailed through, some other stuff simply conversational = pfffttt.... I really wonder if some other commenters are sacred cows ... whatever...
I heard one comment regarding the flooding and that was the river was 42% silted up. That means it has 42% less space in it. That means it can take 42% less flow. That means it is 42% more likely to flood. Of course 42% is not a majority so only a minority of people will be flooded. As people in the Somerset levels don't class as an ethnic minority just a 42% minority nothing will be done.
ReplyDelete42% ? isn't that higher than the overall proportion of the electorate that voted at the last election? :-)
DeleteLast night on the BBC South news they covered Hambledon in Hampshire.
ReplyDeleteThe new drain to stop the flooding was quoted as £3.5million. Having read your blog and Henry's I guess that by adding together a £2million court case in Cornwall (for a £1000 fine) and at least £1.5m for Avoncliff and rising you get a new drain for Hambledon. Oh I see the EA have already wasted that money so Hambledon will have to flood for a few more years until we give the EA some more money, if they don't waste it first.
I suspect that the tally for monumental and expensive balls-ups is positively eye-watering. We keep hearing about fresh poo every week.
DeleteIn the case of some (categorically not all) of the managers we have encountered in the four years this shambles has been running we think that EA managerial PPE wardrobe should be extended to clown suits and large pointy white dunce hats.
Wonder how the vehicles would look in Henry's global league table of environment agencies - that number looks rather high - no hybrid 4*4's then eh?
ReplyDeleteThe A has decided to charge consultants £84 for advice on projects. This would appear to be each time you ask a question on a project.
ReplyDeleteExcuse me EA, my house is flooding, why haven't you dredged the river?
EA response - I am sorry I cannot answer that question until you pay me £84.
If all the people flooded by the EA's lack of dredging asked that question and paid for the answer they would have enough money to pay for the dredging.
A form of flood insurance, ask the EA a question, get enough people in your community who have also been flooded to ask the question, each pay £84 and hey presto no more flooding. It may depend on the size of your community. You may have to do this for a couple of flood events and you have to rely on the EA not wasting the money you have already paid on another vanity project or a pointless court case where they are trying to victimise someone.
That's very interesting since they are apparently intending to ratchet up (put into orbit actually) fees for hydro power "abstraction" .... - can feel an article coming on about this - if you've more details - love to hear about this.
DeleteWhy is the EA asking everyone else like farmers to pick up the slack? They have already been doing picking up the slack left by the EA. Whats the point in giving £700+ million to the EA for flood defences and maintenance if they are going to squander it and then ask everyone else to do their work for them? Its all very well the BBC and PM praising them, but it was the local communities, emergency services and council staff who really did all the work during these floods. The EA was late to respond and even then with too few people to make a difference.
ReplyDeleteBBC are an extension of EA-PR - independent reportage? Not if Horizon House can get their mitts on the copy ...
DeleteTime to go for the Norfolk Broads model of water management and push the EA out altogether - likely same boots on the ground with less spendthrift goons in offices randomly dotted around the country.....
It is alright for the EA and the PM asking farmers to dredge the river for them and the local councils to clear the drains but anyone working within 8m of a watercourse (river to you and me) has to have a Flood Defence Consent from the EA costing £50 to ensure they won't cause a flood, like the EA have by not dredging. If you own river bank it is your riparian duty to maintain the river but you still have to have Flood Defence Consent to do the work and they can fine you if you don't.
DeleteI am in support of farmers and ecologists. They say badgers transmit TB to cows. In Somerset they had a Badger Cull. Who were in charge = Defra, who just happen to be over the EA. Apparently it cost about £4k per dead badger. Why not return to blood sports. Dress the Senior EA officers in Black and White with a fancy Black and White hat. Take them out of their expensive cars, reducing CO2, and plonk them in the middle of the Mulchelney. You would get a queue of people wanting to take part in that cull. Its a nice thought but unfortunately it would be a waste of good bullets. Maybe just give them spades and tell them they were not allowed home until all the rivers were dredged.
ReplyDeleteI see the EA are still dredging up the same old arguments why the floods are not their fault.
ReplyDeletePutting out utterly self serving dissembling, mendacious misdirecting twaddle is what the EA "corporate communicators" do - to do otherwise would be an admission that they are less than omniscient .... quite possibly a bunch of incompetent clowns.
DeleteThe likes of The Guardian and the BBC and much of the mainstream media just reproduce this guff uncritically .... which is not actually very helpful at all.
You guys still banging on about this? Fees are high and applications take so long because of the hassle created between you and Henry. You all need to get a life.
ReplyDeleteanother one on the gravy train
DeleteThe fees will be even higher when David Jordans mess is sorted out the buck stops with him he told us when he visited us, took our hospitality two years ago and said it would be sorted . Yes he sorted it put John Sweeny in as Mr fix it we asked for him to be removed three times but no John will fix it for me. So then in excess of £650.000.00 pounds (six hundred and fifty thousand pounds) has been sanctioned to try to fix the mess wilfully and maliciously no regards for public funds,the only regard is fix it for me . So far every one pound we gave them to apply they have spent £10,000.00 pounds well done! Great value for money check out your code of conduct.
DeleteOne million hits on Henry's blog would suggest that anon has missed the point here ..
DeleteLord Chris Smith works 3 days a week for the EA, part time leadership is all an Agency of 11,400 people responsible for major flooding and lack of completion of their duties requires, I guess. £1million of the £4million required to dredge the Somerset levels. The EA are hoping to return areas of the wash, Lincolnshire and East Anglia, to how it was 100+ years ago (same with Somerset) before the land was drained. Of course this does not take into account the practicality of food production and farms but if you don't live in the real world you can suggest these things and appear totally plausible.
ReplyDeleteThe obsessive fact checker Richard North is on the case - this post is well worth a read - as are the comments - 108 of them and counting!
ReplyDeleteLooks like the EA are up to their old "price it off the menu" tricks again charging £4million for a £7,500 job
oh, @anon on the 1st Feb@20:20 - hah! - we would have a life if some criminal bureaucrats hadn't intervened - and we're not going away anytime soon...
You're WRONG! - it was £32K for a £4million job - pah!
Delete