Helping residents with flooding issues

The issue:

Some areas in the Reading West constituency have in the past experienced severe flooding, with some residents living in Pangbourne and Purley affected particularly badly.

Achievements to date:

  • Alok has helped out constituents in Pangbourne and Purley during times of flooding as far back as 2007, when in the July floods Alok waded from Pangbourne to Purley to assist residents stranded in their homes and provide practical support at the Pangbourne Control and Rest Centre.
  • Alok has held multiple public meetings on flooding in both Pangbourne and Purley to help local residents get answers to questions on issues such as flood insurance, river maintenance and flood protection.
  • Alok wrote to every household in Purley ward with a flood survey and to distribute information from the Environment Agency detailing all of the action points being taken in relation to the area.
  • After speaking to government ministers on the issue of flooding and the price of flood insurance, Alok welcomed the announcement that the government has reached an agreement with the insurance industry, which will guarantee affordable flood insurance to flood-prone areas in Reading.
  • Alok held successive meetings with the Environment Agency, West Berkshire Council, Purley Parish Council and the Mapledurham Estate to secure funding and planning permission for a flood alleviation scheme in Purley.
  • Work has now been completed on a pumping platform by River Gardens, which will help prevent erosion of the riverbank and allows pipes to be secured firmly in place when flooding does occur, to stop the pipes from moving during pumping and will help to keep the roads open.
  • Work has been completed on a new five metre wide bund to the north of Wintringham Way, to help alleviate the impact of flooding in Purley.

Next steps:

  • Alok will continue to work with the Environment Agency and government ministers to address flooding issues and make further improvements, aided by the data collected from the survey.

Alok says:

“I will continue to work with the Environment Agency and West Berkshire Council to ensure that residents’ concerns are listened to and to lobby where necessary for funding.”

“Many of my constituents in Purley have been waiting for over a decade for some form of flood alleviation scheme, and now we finally have the bund. We all understand that during particularly bad weather events there will continue to be a risk from flooding, but talking to my constituents I know they are delighted that this scheme has finally been delivered and hopefully it will make a difference.”

Helping residents with flooding issues: In the Press