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RESOLVED:

1.      That this Council
notes:
a)           
That flooding is
a very important issue in flood prone
areas of Milton Keynes including, but not exclusively, Lavendon,
Ravenstone, Stoke Goldington, Newport Pagnell and Stony
Stratford.
b)           
That in an article
published by the MK Citizen on the 7th February, Chris Curtis MP
claimed credit for securing £220,000 of funding from
government to fund flood prevention measures including
£150,000 for Lavendon, £50,000 for Stony Stratford and
£20,000 for Newport Pagnell.
c)            
That in a story
published by MKFM on the 17th of February Cabinet Member with
responsibility for flooding Cllr Akash Nayee claimed this as
“£220,000 in New Labour Government funding to help our
local communities mitigate flooding”. It was also confirmed that this council has “a
clear plan to deal with flooding.”

2.      That this council
acknowledges that:
a)           
The motion moved at
the November council meeting by Cllr Geary was
clearly moved on behalf of the residents not as a
party-political motion.
b)           
The motions
around flood funding moved by Cllr McLean at the budget meeting
was not moved as part of the
Conservative group amendments but individually as a ward
member.
c)            
The money referred to
in the press releases was not new money as previously understood,
but monies held on account by the Environment Agency. This
accumulated over several years, as the total sum available to
Lavendon is in excess of £600k.
Nether the less, this sum still presents a shortfall, as the total
spend is presently unclear due to decisions required as to which
parts of the Lavendon scheme offers best value.
d)           
Similarly, the other
flood schemes have an allocation from the Environment Agency for
this year (and previous years), which sits unspent pending the
commencement of agreed schemes.
e)           
That the agreed
schemes, flood planning and funding, is not
widely understood and requires clearer explanation so ward
councillors can be better informed.

4.      That this
Council:
a)           
Notes that this money
has been available for over 2 years and this council has not yet
been able to spend it despite there being “a clear
plan” for flood schemes.
b)           
Agrees to share the
flood schemes and the associated funding, so councillors have a
better understanding and to ensure transparency.
c)            
Ensures the flood
schemes and funding are added to the
agenda for the Environment and Scrutiny committee to discuss at
their forthcoming meeting on flooding and remains as an item for
updates to ensure oversight that the work commences as soon as is
practical.
d)           
That the
administration reviews the Lavendon scheme to consider how this
council might meet any financial shortfall, (as referred to above),
to ensure the funding already secured is not
lost.