Continuing Saga of the 2007 Flooding

Our resident self-proclaimed drainage expert and fidi defensor has sent an email to a number of targets attempting to justify his obstructive behaviour relating to the drainage improvement project. Having had a copy passed to me I note a series of disingenuous statements, basic errors and (deliberate?) lack of understanding of the situation.

In his email he has changed the story somewhat from the information he issued to the Goole Times in which he alleged there were two schemes - one "scheme" has become a draft plan based on the grant of £85,000 obtained from EU funds. I recall that at the time this grant was announced he publically stated it was by no means sufficient to provide a complete solution so his complaint that the community now need to contribute seems based on very selective use of the historical information.

The EU funds would have certainly gone a long way towards reopening the filled in or inadequately culverted dykes and left them as open watercourses but would have left these same dykes as vulnerable to interference as before and with erratic levels. To avoid the dykes becoming blocked or restricted again the ERYC did not proceed down this path but carried out proper levels and flow investigation surveys and designed an improved piped system which was put before the parish council. The Parish Council then held consultations with the affected residents of Westbrook Road, Scalby Lane/Greenacre Park/Chestnut Drive and finally, having obtained the agreement of these householders who would be most affected by the works, held a village consultation open day. Without agreement at every step of these consultations the project would not go ahead. The consensus of opinion was in favour so the Parish Council acted swiftly by holding a special meeting to approve application for a low interest rate public works loan and make the loan application.

It was at this meeting that the use of the ring fenced money held by the parish council for memorial hall rebuild was suggested by the individual mentioned above. As a result the concept of ring-fencing, and low interest capital works loans was explained to him. However he chose to ignore this and began issuing misinformation to the public with a number of "loaded" questions as a private consultation.

Following responses via Parish Council leaflets to correct the bizarre claims in the private consultation papers he approached the Goole Times local newspaper to make his case to that newspaper. Before the Goole Times printed the resulting article they asked the Parish Council for comment which did enable the true situation to be included and expose the lies being peddled, with testimony from both the Parish Council and ERYC drainage department that no alternative scheme had ever been drawn up. Subsequent enquiry of the Internal Drainage Board confirms they have no record of any such scheme either. From this it should be evident to all readers that there never was an alternative scheme for the Parish Council to consult upon as claimed, much less that the East Riding Drainage Engineers or the Internal Drainage Board had created one in conjunction with our self-proclaimed drainage expert as he also claimed. Professionally qualified Engineers do not normally take input from unqualified amateurs in any field!

This can only reveal a misguided determination to twist the truth to his own ends.