Storm Desmond one year on: Farmers still wait for emergency funding

Today is the eve of the first anniversary of Storm Desmond that devastated many farmers and rural areas
Today is the eve of the first anniversary of Storm Desmond that devastated many farmers and rural areas

Hundreds of farmers in areas that were badly affected by last winter's storms are still waiting to receive emergency funding to restore agricultural land.

The winter floods struck on December 4 2015 with intense rainfall hitting farming communities in Cumbria, Lancashire, Northumberland, Yorkshire, County Durham and Greater Manchester.

Two thirds of surveyed Cumbrian farmers suffered damage to riverbanks, over half were left with gravel deposits on their land while more than 700 sheep were killed by flood waters.

The National Farmers Union (NFU) was instrumental in establishing the Farming Recovery Fund, and around 1,100 applications have been made totalling over £9million. The fund covers activities such as drain and boundary repairs and reseeding.

Last winter
Last winter's floodings caused havoc for many farmers

However, NFU Deputy President Minette Batters said it was extremely frustrating that hundreds of farmers were bracing themselves for another winter while still waiting for funding to help recover from the previous one.

“Storm Desmond and the subsequent flooding brought devastation to farming businesses and many are still feeling the effects. Farmers have faced months of uncertainty over access to the flood recovery fund, piled on top of delays to their annual farm payments. This is totally unacceptable and must be resolved as a matter of urgency.

“Scotland and Northern Ireland had their farming recovery funds done and dusted by the middle of 2016. So why are so many farmers in England being forced to wait for their emergency funding? The Rural Payments Agency (RPA) created some delays when processing the original applications. But we appreciate that they are still waiting to receive claims from affected farmers partly due to the high level of evidence farmers are required to submit.

'Whole catchment approach'

Early next year, the NFU will be launching its flooding manifesto. This will set out policy asks and action for government and others to mitigate flood risk in the future.

Miss Batters continued: “We believe a whole catchment approach to flood management must be adopted. This includes accurate consideration of the importance of the food and farming industry – one that contributes £108bn to the economy, employing more than 1 in 8 people of the workforce. Some of our most productive and highest value agricultural land is in the floodplain or coastal regions, vulnerable to flooding, and deserves to be protected.

“Natural flood management schemes do have a place and Defra Secretary of State Andrea Leadsom’s recent confirmation that £15million will be assigned for natural flood management is a step towards finding such a scheme. However, they are not a universal solution and must be used alongside a package of measures across the catchment to improve flood resilience to both urban and rural communities, including traditional hard-engineered structures and their maintenance.

Miss Batters said in order for the UK to improve resilience across the country, two things are crucial - accurate modelling and suitable funding.

She said: “Flood models must be continually updated to account for the extreme weather events which are becoming all too regular.

“Capital and maintenance budgets for flood risk management must also be reviewed. As we increase the number of assets improving the resilience of rural and urban areas to flooding, maintenance budgets have to be increased to cope with the demands placed on the pot of money. In short, the government’s strategy to manage future flood risk must be to plan, protect and pay."