FARMERS from Currymoor will head to London next week ahead of plans to dramatically improve the drainage on their land which flooded so badly this summer.
District Councillor Gill Slattery and farmers will meet Richard Benyon MP, the Under-Secretary of State for Rural Affairs in the hope of raising the awareness of the problem.
Cllr Slattery said: “I am confident the plans to improve the drainage can be put in place but it’s more of a challenge to get the money because you would need several million pounds.
“I see the flooding we had last summer as an environmental risk which will be repeated in the future – the farming community is a very significant part of the social economic make up on this ward and 95% of the parish is on Currymoor so it is very appropriate to speak up for these people and Jeremy Browne MP has helped with that.”
Cllr Slattery said the floods this summer cost the Environment Agency £400k and even more for farmers.
She said the drainage in place is so blocked after years of no dredging that it is 35% off its normal capacity.
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