Mark Todd

Several South Derbyshire villages were affected by floods in 2000, with hundreds of properties suffering damage. Since then £1.5 million has been spent on defending Hatton while a scheme at Willington has provided protection of a small part of that village. 

Environment Agency studies have since taken place on the Rivers Dove, Trent and Derwent to determine how often communities might be affected in future, and what defence measures might be effective. 

The Derwent study showed that the village of Ambaston is surrounded by a defensive ring which is out of date. But it also stated that it might be too costly to raise the defences. 

Mark will chair a public meeting in Ambaston tomorrow (Friday, Nov 7th) at Elvaston Village Hall from 730pm. A representative from the Environment Agency will be there to answer questions. This meeting is part of the consultation on the Derwent study.

The MP will urge the agency to move ahead with defences for Ambaston.

He said: "Ambaston is surrounded by an old defence. In 2000 this just held, by a few centimetres. The agency’s research shows that the 2000 floods were not a 1 in 100-year event, but potentially rather more frequent, and that they would be overtopped in a 1 in 100-year flood. The village is already isolated in severe conditions as all surrounding farmland floods so evacuation may be the safest option if heavy flooding is predicted, but these defences need to be raised. The agency intends, rightly, to carry out works in Derby to protect parts of the city better. Those works will increase the flow of the Derwent downstream actually increasing the risks at Ambaston. I will argue that the funding of Ambaston’s defence should be seen as part of the larger Derby project and funded on that basis.”