§ 11.5 a.m.
§ Mr. Laurie Pavitt (Brent, South)With your permission, Mr. Speaker, and that of the House, I beg leave to present a petition signed by 588 of my constituents who seek relief from the acute anxiety that arises especially among the elderly, in my area whenever there is a heavy downpour of rain.
The petition sheweth
That 71 households were flooded with sewerage water following the heavy rainfall on 16th and 17th August 1977.That this disaster has caused severe physical, mental and financial distress, and that investigations reveal that these floods were not unexpected, and according to expert engineering opinion the risk of further flooding has been rapidly increasing due to extensive new building developments and drainage systems. Planned and approved alleviation works have not been implemented and the reason given for this failure has been the shortage of finance.At a time of cuts in public expenditure which affect all citizens, the people of Stonebridge have had the additional burden of living through a disaster which has destroyed the contents of the ground floors of their homes, with all the consequent hardship and suffering. Nor will they have the wherewithal to replace their losses, as most families have a weekly wage and live from week to week.The petition concludes:
Wherefore your petitioners pray that your honourable House by legislation or otherwise ensure that:
- (1) full compensation be paid adequately to restore that which was lost.
- (2) the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food shall, in conjunction with the Greater London Council, seek to implement a satisfactory flood alleviation scheme as a matter of urgency.
- (3) temporary works and an effective flood warning system be put into operation immediately and that the lowering of the
1126 water level in the reservoir known as the Welsh Harp shall have high priority.
§ To lie upon the Table.