Newark and Sherwood District Council approved an 11 point motion to lobby those in power to prevent repeat of devastating floods in the aftermath of Storm Babet and Storm Henk

Almost a year after parts of the district were devastated by flooding, a council has agreed to lobby those in power to ensure it does not happen again.

At a meeting of full council, Newark and Sherwood District Council approved an 11 point motion, developed together with regional authorities in the Newark and Sherwood Multi Agency Flood partnership, which was established in the aftermath of Storm Babet and Storm Henk.

The motion, moved by portfolio holder for public protection and community relations Paul Taylor, seeks to address the most devastating effects of flooding experienced across the area during last winter’s storms, and explore ways to prevent future flooding on the same scale.

As part of this, the council has agreed to lobby the two district MPs, Robert Jenrick and Michelle Welsh, as well as the East Midlands Mayor Claire Ward, and government ministers.

They will also seek to promote increased use of natural flooding solutions where appropriate as often this is the most economic solution.

The 11 point motion includes a call for the development of a national flood mitigation scheme on the River Trent, as well as increased financial support, and speed of support, for community recovery.

Additional funding for emergency preparedness, water safety training for essential responders and communications tools for at-risk communities is also sought.

The council also want to see a review of national planning regulations aimed at reducing unauthorised connections into foul sewer systems and ensuring mitigation measures are correctly installed, with the goal of relieving pressure on the drainage system.

Alongside this, they want to see greater consideration given to ways in which developments can mitigate flood risk in locations which have suffered flooding, even if flood risk maps have not been updated.

They also ask that flood risk agencies and developers retrospectively address flood risk for developments which were given consent before flood risk changes.

The motion also wants to put more pressure onto water authorities, requiring them to deliver effective flood prevention maintenance on rivers and water courses.

A sustainable funding solution to the Internal Drainage Board (IDB) levy is also sought — this increased in Newark and Sherwood by 59% from £595,400 in 2020/21, to £949,800 in 2024/25.

The motion received the backing of most councillors, including deputy leader Rowan Cozens, who said: “We live with climate change now. It’s not something that is going to happen — it’s here.

“It has an impact on us locally, it’s going to have an impact on food security, it’s going to have an impact on the movement of people, and we need to have a grown up debate about it.

“We need to put action into place, which we are doing.”

Phil Farmer added: “I saw the devastating effects of the flooding. Some of my residents are still not back in their homes.

“It’s been a really tragic local consequence of what is a global issue.

“Anything that builds resilience in our villages and Newark itself is good, and it’s good that we’re being seen to do that.”

Emma Oldham said: “We continue to uphold our commitment to not returning to business as usual until these flooding issues are properly resolved and alleviated, and the lives of our residents are safeguarded.”

Keith Melton, portfolio holder for climate change, added: “We do need to address the issues of flood prevention and flood mitigation financially, and the government should be contacted in order to do that.”

The Conservative Group proposed an amendment to the motion with additional suggestions, which Jack Kellas said would help to strengthen the document. However, this amendment was not passed.

The council agreed to take into account the proposed additions, discuss them with flooding partners — such as Nottinghamshire County Council and the Environment Agency — and if deemed acceptable, to bring an amendment back for councillors to review at a future date.

The original flooding motion was then approved via recorded vote, with 35 councillors in favour, and one councillor, Irene Brown, against.