Call for residents to volunteer as flood wardens to prevent more disasters in Milton Keynes

That's the view of city Liberal Democrat councillors, who are still pushing for answers about why the flooding was so severe.

Lib Dem group leader councillor Douglas McCall has warned MK Council that this issue is not going to go away, but will only worsen with climate change.

He says that the Strategy for 2050, which sets the way for the city’s future with the building of more than 200,000 new homes, must include references to balancing lakes, river maintenance and assessments of old drainage networks.

This week Lib Dem councillor Jane Carr is appealing for people to become flood wardens or to form community flood groups.

Cllr Carr represents Newport Pagnell South ward, which was hit badly on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. She said: “Community groups and flood wardens are crucial, because it’s the residents themselves who are first on the scene.”, says Cllr Carr. “These groups deserve advice and resources, so they’re better equipped to help their community. I’ll be fighting for this on the council.”

Liberal Democrat environment spokesperson, Councillor Vanessa McPake, is pushing for the council to investigate problems with the opening of gates to balancing lakes, as currently permission from the Environment Agency is required. Balancing lakes are critical in holding flood waters.

“I will be raising the flooding issues again at the next meeting of the regional Environment Agency, as all the waterways which flooded in January were ones maintained by the Environment Agency," she said.

“After what happened in December, residents can be assured we’re not letting this go.”

If you are interested in community flood groups or becoming a flood warden, contact Cllr Jane Carr at [email protected].

Meanwhile Old Stratford resident Christopher Smith believes the flooding problem, which started in Stony Stratford, was caused of exacerbated by silting up of the River Ouse in the area.

He said: "Following the last serious flooding in Stony Stratford some years ago, flood controls were put into place by the Environment Agency to better control the volume of water in the River Ouse. These have worked quite well top until this year.

"A walk along the river bank from the bridge at Old Stratford round to the wear/ flood gates behind Stony Stratford, observing the extremely poor maintenance over a long time, should leave no doubt in anyone’s mind why serious flooding has returned.

"There are trees blocking the flow right actress from bank to bank, and large areas of weed. This slows the flow of water and causes silting to build up."

Mr Smith said residents in Stony Stratford affected by the latest flood should join forces and "make a lot of noise" to the authorities responsible for the upkeep of the stretch of the Ouse from Passenham through to Wolverton and Haversham.

"It is very easy to protect Stony Stratford with an earth bank probably no more the 4ft high, which could be constructed using the dredged silt, and other spoil produced from the huge building sites within Milton Keynes," he said.

"Yes it will be expensive, but is only a one off, saving tens of thousands in insurance payouts, and ending a lot of misery for people in the future. Residents of Stony Stratford, start shouting now...."