Positive meeting on climate change cash
(Eastern Daily Press, 21 May 2008)
Coastal campaigners travelled to London yesterday to meet senior Defra officials and discuss how Norfolk might best benefit from a new national £30m pot of money to help communities adapt to climate change.
North Norfolk MP Norman Lamb and Coastal Concern Action Group coordinator Malcolm Kerby were in Westminster to put their views directly to Defra about the adaptation toolkit cash announced last autumn.
The exact way the money will be spent is unclear, but government officials have said it is aimed at helping communities "adapt to change where constructing defences is not the most appropriate means of managing flood and coastal erosion risk".
Both Mr Lamb and Mr Kerby described the meeting as "very constructive" and they were pleased to be involved with the process at such an early stage.
The meeting, they hoped, would contribute to government policy in the long run rather than paying immediate dividends.
"To be part of this particular process at this time can only be a good thing," said Mr Kerby. "We need to have maximum input into discussions of this nature and this meeting gave us that opportunity."
The pair also took the opportunity to raise the issue of the controversial Natural England report which recently discussed the possibility of surrendering villages and land on the northern Broads to the North Sea.
"We were able to reiterate our absolute demand that the Natural England options should be removed," said Mr Lamb. "I intend to ram home this message at every opportunity and this was another chance."