§ Mr. BarkerTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the impact of the inability of water to escape from the upriver side of the Robertsbridge bypass on the repeated flooding of parts of the village; what account the Environment Agency has taken of evidence from the fire brigade of the differential levels of flooding on either side of the bypass; and if she will take steps to enlarge the culverts under the bypass before the autumn. [3857]
§ Mr. Morley[holding answer 16 July 2001]Operational responsibility for flood defence rests with local operating authorities, such as the Environment Agency, and other bodies, such as the Highway's Agency insofar as highways are concerned. I understand that the Environment Agency has undertaken a pre-feasibility study of the flooding problems at Robertsbridge, including hydraulic modelling and investigation of suggestions that the bypass may have an impact. The Environment Agency's current view is that the bypass does not impede floodwaters and that there is no need to enlarge the culverts under the bypass.