Scrap HS2 and use the money for flood damage?

Greyduster By the time HS2 is completed someone, somewhere will have invented a new method of transport and HS2 will quickly become obsolete,

I wish they’d come clean on HS2 and say “sorry, it won’t actually go any further than Birmingham, chaps, so the north will have to suck it up, and by the time we have built it, it will be completely outdated anyway.” Jaundiced, I know, but that is what most of us feel up here anyway. There are better ways of spending money in the North than HS2, flood management being just one of them.

I hadn’t read your comment Dinahmo before I posted mine!

I see you had the same thought!

There is also the increasing problem of front gardens being paved to create additional parking spaces where previously rain water would have soaked away into lawns and flower beds.

With regard to HS2 I have mixed feelings, but any large expensive project planned by any government will have it’s critics.

MaisieD Yes, the govt could issue more money but HS2 is, IMO, a vanity project and there's not much glory to be gained from renewing or creating new infrastructure.

Which is just what I said, Dinahmo There's no political will to build infrastructure.

Yes OP a very good idea.

The concreting over of front gardens doesn't help either.

I agree with you about roadside ditches and drains.

I live in an area with chalk sub soil, so we rarely have more than temporary, localised flooding. The floods we do have could be prevented by clearing the roadside ditches, which I believe are the responsibility of the farmers, and replacement of drains, some of which are Victorian.

I was told that trees are needed on the hillsides (not round here), because the roots would help soak up the water, so less would run down into the valleys or, at least, slow it down. Apparently it's a problem in the North West (Lake District, etc).

Yes, ananimous, permissions are still being granted for building on flood plains.

Where is the common sense?

Drainage dykes in East Anglia ......... have failed
I was watching a farmer at Lytham St Anne's this morning


Lytham St Anne's is not in East Anglia

Yes, more trees, growstuff particularly along rivers.
However, the heavily wooded Wye Valley is flooded in parts.

The rivers would have to be dredged for whole lengths, not just where they tend to flood. Roadside ditches should be cleaned and dredged. Our drains are not up to the standard required or are blocked.

We have been complaining for years about planning permission being granted for building on flood plains.
The name 'Flood plain' is self-explanatory.

MaisieD Yes, the govt could issue more money but HS2 is, IMO, a vanity project and there's not much glory to be gained from renewing or creating new infrastructure. Unless the PM causes new estates of social housing to be built which could be named after him. Boris Bunkers perhaps.

Everytime the gov "issues" money it makes our money worth less.

Building on flood plains right this minute - learned nothing.

They should move house if 2nd flooding.

Dredging (or lack of) isn't the main reason for flooding. There are loads of different reasons. Dredging can cause water to flow faster and cause flooding further downstream. It just shifts the problem. Another reason for flooding is deforestation of hilly land. There are others, such as changes in farming practices.

They wouldn't have to scrap HS2. The government is an issuer of money. It could issue more money to pay for improving flood defences and helping those affected but the political will isn't there and they want you all to stay convinced that a national budget is the same as a household budget.

merlotgran I was watching a farmer at Lytham St Anne's on the news yesterday morning. Half of his land which was used to grow grass was badly flooded and he showed a dyke where the water was overflowing and he explained how the system should work.

EllanVannin Local councils don't have the money because the amount they receive from central government, especially in more deprived areas, has been slashed over the last ten years. The salaries of a handful of council executives is a red herring.

No, scrap HS2 and use the money for other improved transport.

Many flood defences have been built over the past few years. and have held up well this time.
Reports have said that dredging etc has helped save the Somerset levels this time. The flood defences near here have held up but unprecedented amounts of water has gushed down and more does need to be done in some areas.

Drainage dykes in East Anglia, which were designed to take away excess water have failed because sluice gates haven't been opened to let the water out to the sea.

Do you have a link to this report, Dinahmo? Which part of East Anglia?

I live on the Cambridgeshire fens and all flood defences are working well here.

An EU directive prevents the silt being piled at the side of rivers, as it had been done for centuries to help prevent flooding, and now requires it to be taken away instead but, hey ho, you all love the EU.

What a waste ! They should have built "double-decker "carriages instead of a whole new system.
Compare cities in Australia with far fewer people/populations than we have ( overall ) yet their systems work because they have extra room and not packed like sardines. Surely the extortionate fares would have covered what was needed in building new coaches as well as maintenance work. I don't know where they get these enormous sums of money from to build new systems ? Which won't benefit all.

The money should have gone into those areas which badly need financial injections such as the NHS/Nursing Homes and DECENT affordable housing so that people don't end up homeless.
Investing in training and apprenticeships should be paramount for future school-leavers.

No wonder the councils " don't have the money "-----take a look at how much their top-brass are earning--for what ??

An Oxford-Cambridge road link would make more sense. It would take pressure off the M25 to the south and all the small villages and roads along the current route between Oxford and Cambridge. I would be all for it!

HS2 is a done deal. They have decided to throw good money after bad, and to be fair, after the Consevative's success in our rustbelt, they didn't really have an option

However, there is a silver lining. it does look as if they are going to cancel the Oxford-Cambridge link road and the million houses planned to be built along that road corridor.

Perhaps, the money earmarked for that could go to flood alleviation.

Return to the days of dredging rivers, dykes, brooks etc and not building on flood plains would be a good starting point.

Well he’s not going to scrap it his father has made a big killing by selling his house for millions of compensation
metro.co.uk/2016/03/09/boris-johnsons-dad-receives-multi-million-pound-payout-over-hs2-5742573/

Never going to happen they’ll plough ahead regardless.