The total lack of communication between authorities is a worry. I have been to two recent Environment Agency seminars now, several months apart, and the knowledge and expertise relating to flooding is enormously impressive.But - at the first meeting I raised the problems here in Brentford, asking how we can have confidence in any future schemes, when the current ones are inoperative for years due to nil maintenance. I also asked for contact details of people who could monitor and enforce the necessary compliance, and details of the supposedly satisfactory recent survey of the existing flood defences (which had to be a stitch-up).Response was promised, but nothing happened. Two months later following the next glowing lecture, I repeated my requests – no response at all so far. When major water authorities can fail so signally to communicate between themselves, any measures dependant on that cooperation must fail. When the prime flood measures authority lets monitoring and enforcement slide, there's no hope of effectiveness.A classic example just in – my old friends British Waterways have flooded out a town up north. They can't be blamed for the procedural response to an anticipated situation, but they certainly can be blamed for failing to check with the other authorities as to whether their drains etc were going to cope with what they did. A little communication could have obviated the calamity, and hopefully have illuminated the need to get maintenance carried out urgently.In the event, this was an unnecessarily drastic way of pointing out the need to unblock a drain.http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/s/1033750_fifty_radcliffe_homes_floodedOur own blocked flap-valves here are a different problem of course – they won't build up flooding of themselves, being frozen open rather than closed. The principle applies though, and the whole western half of the area south of the High Street has remained without flood defences for years. When it is realised that the situation continues despite the full knowledge of Hounslow Council, Thames Water AND the Environment Agency, what confidence can we have that ANY flood defence measures will be effective?Most pertinently for the immediate future -what confidence can we have that the Environment Agency have addressed these issues properly in the new proposals for the Town Centre? They obviously have NOT researched the situation here themselves, and will have relied on developer's research. We are told that such research is privileged private property, and cannot be subject to disclosure. I know for a fact that nothing has been done in that regard around here (other than checking AOD's and chatting with British Waterways), so perhaps that's academic.My suggestions that the Agency at least share with the Council such of their massive database as is their own to share, has been met with silence so far.The question remaining then, is whether the Environment Agency has been rendered as toothless as many other protective agencies.
Nigel Moore ● 6391d