The wet weather recently has been relentless, with rainfall up to twice as much on usual January levels. I know residents in
Barnham and Eastergate were especially disrupted, with traffic re‑routed because of flooding and potholes. Flood warnings were issued along the Western River Rother at Fittleworth and on the River Arun at Pulborough, highlighting the very real risks to homes and local infrastructure. These concerns are ones I have raised directly with the Environment Agency, and I am continuing to engage with them on their response to flooding incidents and longer‑term resilience.
What residents are experiencing locally reflects a national problem in the way our water industry is regulated. Clean rivers and seas, resilient infrastructure and fair pricing must be at the heart of reform of our water industry. It’s a highly regulated sector but these regulations and regulators have been spread across different bodies leading to big failures whether the companies themselves have been publicly or privately owned. Locally, I’ve been tracking closely measures to reduce storm overflows and the agricultural run off which has impacted river health. I enjoyed joining volunteers from Eco Rother Action recently in their sampling of water on the River Rother. I cautiously welcome the government’s new White Paper, A New Vision for Water, which sets out major reforms but we need to keep an eye on what this means for customer bills.
Lastly, I wanted to reflect on public service and those who set a remarkable standard for it. I was saddened to hear of the death of Howard Flight, later Lord Flight, one of my predecessors as Member of Parliament for Arundel and South Downs. He was a serious parliamentarian, respected across the House of Commons and later in the House of Lords, and someone who believed deeply in economic responsibility and proper scrutiny of government. He gave many years of dedicated service to Parliament and to West Sussex, and he will be dearly missed by colleagues on all sides.
Andrew Griffith is the Member of Parliament for Arundel and South Downs
Contact details: Andrew Griffith MP, House of Commons, London, SW1A 0AA
Email: Andrew.griffith.mp@parliament.uk Website: www.andrewgriffith.uk