NEW measures to protect farmland could make flooding worse in towns and cities, according to the Angling Trust.


Speaking at the Oxford Farming Conference last Wednesday Liz Truss, Secretary of State for the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), announced a number of new government measures to give farmers more control over dredging.


Mrs Truss said that more than a million acres of prime farmland will be better protected by 2021 through investment in flood defences.


During her speech Mrs Truss said: “Subject to parliamentary approval, we will also allow farmers across the country to maintain ditches up to 1.5km long from April, so they can dredge and clear debris and manage the land to stop it getting waterlogged. 


“This follows the successful pilots we started two years ago. We will also soon announce proposals to give internal drainage boards and other groups more power to maintain local watercourses.”


A spokesman for Defra added: “We will also be giving communities greater control of their local environment. This includes allowing farmers - who know their land best - to maintain ditches on their property.

"Currently, farmers are unable to remove debris, such as silt from ditches, without permission.”

However the Angling Trust has expressed grave concern about any increase in wholesale dredging because they say Environment Agency evidence suggests that in many cases this increases the speed and volume of water heading into main rivers which will then flood more towns and cities.


Mark Lloyd, chief executive of the Angling Trust and Fish Legal said: “Dredging to protect farmland was responsible for decimating wildlife in many rivers in the 1960s and 70s and it is unbelievable that the secretary of state for the environment is seeking to go back to those bad old days.”