Minister to face flood threat families
By Ed Foss (Eastern Daily Press, 24 May 2008)
Flooding minister Phil Woolas will visit Norfolk in July and come face to face with people threatened with losing their homes and businesses if proposals to abandon 25 square miles of the Broads go ahead.
Those behind the Norfolk end of the visit have already made it clear the event should not be confrontational, but part of a reasoned attempt to force the government quango Natural England into dropping a controversial report first revealed in the EDP in late March.
The report, which has been blamed for lost house sales, outlines four options for the future coast protection - or lack of it - of the northern Broads in the face of climate change. Three of those options look set to spell disaster for six villages, including Hickling, Sea Palling and Potter Heigham.
Mr Woolas has been lobbied by a number of MPs and community groups to come to the area and his office have now confirmed he will make the trip.
He will attend a meeting in Lessingham village hall, where he has been invited to make a speech on climate change and its effects on north east Norfolk. He will then face a range of questions from various Norfolk representatives.
The event has been organised by a newly formed group called the North East Norfolk Coastal Parishes Group, which includes seven parishes and the Norfolk County Association of Parish and Town Councils.
Mr Woolas is also expected to meet with local MPs, likely to include North Norfolk MP Norman Lamb, Mid Norfolk MP Keith Simpson and Yarmouth MP Tony Wright.
"I am very pleased a government minister is prepared to spend time with us and I believe he is extremely keen to come," said Michael Walker, who is one of the lead members of the new coastal parishes group.
"I understand the anger which has been caused by this situation, but I also feel it is important to have a calm and rational debate.
"The fact they want to talk to us is a demonstration that quiet diplomacy can work. From now on over the next 50 to 100 years we will have to consider this issue, there is no way of putting the genie back in the bottle."
Mr Walker said the government couldn't "get off the hook" by blaming Natural England, as the government were the masters of the body so had to take responsibility for its views. It was vital, he added, to clear up confusion over which organisations filled which roles, particularly the fact Natural England could not create policy.
Mr Lamb, who secured his own verbal pledge from Mr Woolas to come to Norfolk following a recent parliamentary debate, said: "You can read up about an issue and you can debate it in parliament. But until you see it with your own eyes and talk to the people on the ground experiencing the problem, you don't get the full force.
"By the time he leaves Norfolk, the minister will understand why people are so concerned."
Backing the new coastal parishes group, Mr Lamb said: "It will allow more opportunities for grassroots democracy to play a significant part in this."
Malcolm Kerby, coordinator of the Coastal Concern Action Group, said: "Along with so many other people I want to see right and justice for this part of the coast. For the first layer of democracy to get involved like this is brilliant.
"Alongside commitment from the county and district councils, we have all our knights in place.
"It is easy to sit in London and draw lines on a map, sentencing people to oblivion. But when people come here and see it, their jaw drops."
Final confirmation of the date of Mr Woolas' visit is due to be made in the next week or two, but it is set for one of two Mondays in early July.
The coastal parishes group has also organised a meeting with Natural England regional director Shaun Thomas on June 23.
- Mr Lamb is currently collecting signatures for a parliamentary petition on the subject of the Natural England report. He said yesterday the deadline had been set for June 13.
It is easy to reject the importance of parish councils in a world where they are so often dismissed out of hand, but the formation of the North East Norfolk Coastal Parishes Group proves the point that the lowest level of democracy still has a key part to play, argues Ed Foss.
While it may appear to be yet another group of people intending to sit around a table on an irregular basis to discuss matters over which they have no control, this particular group fills an important gap in the fight to rid us all of the spectre of the Natural England report.
Years of campaigning and lobbying have proved the importance of the roles filled by North Norfolk MP Norman Lamb, the coordinator of the Coastal Concern Action Group Malcolm Kerby, the officers and members of North Norfolk District Council and even the slightly later intervention of representatives at Norfolk County Council.
Other MPs have played their part, especially recently at a parliamentary debate which attracted the opinions of the majority of those in Norfolk holding this particular level of office.
While other communities around north east Norfolk are looking to form campaign and study groups - and we should certainly not fault them for doing so - a gap has remained. One can generally look to Norfolk authority as consisting of, for now at least, four tiers - MP, county council, district council and parish council.
It would be unfair to suggest parish councils have kept out of the debate, far from it. But they have appeared comparatively quiet. That space now appears to have been filled. Grassroots opinion has another opportunity to make its way into the system.
And bear in mind that the game of politics is played out far less at parish level than at any other level of local authority. If there is one subject where we should attempt to steer clear of party politics, it is climate change and the effect it looks set to have on us in Norfolk.
Not only that, but it is instantly apparent that the most important campaign group of them all in this debate, CCAG, is extremely happy about the creation of the coastal parishes group, as is the North Norfolk MP.
Lobbying is always best done hand in hand, using diplomacy but with a few fireworks in the background ready for lighting if necessary.
The set up may be in its infancy, but it has clearly been done with quiet care over a number of weeks - and we should all welcome the fact that the coastal parishes group has joined the fray.