Meeting with Adjoining Councils
At the beginning of October, 2006, a joint meeting of PARISH COUNCIL'S waqs held at Welney. The meeting was called by Welney Parish Council so that neighbouring Councils could form a united front on matters that were of concern to all, without having to worry about county boundaries. Representatives from Welney, Denver, Christchurch and Manea attended the meeting. Items discussed were Highway issues, Planning matters, Quality Parishes, Community, Transport etc., and everyone agreed that themeeting had been a great success. Councils agreed to consider all the points relating to their own councils and then communicate with each other so that a joint approach could be made on specific items. It was unanimously agreed to hold meetings on a six monthly bais and to invite other neighbouring councils to join the group. If there are any councils who would be interested in joining the venture, please contact Welney Parish Cler - Mrs.Pat Copeman on 01354 610226 or e-mail welneypc@aol.com A second meeting was held on 28th March and the main item for discussion was the flooding of the Wash Road. The following Notice has been circulated to all councils, and we would be delighted to hear from as many people as possible along the lines set out in the notice Welney Wash Road Flooding – Have Your Say The winter of 2006/2007 has seen a prolonged period of flooding on the A1101 Welney Wash Road, rendering it impassable to traffic for weeks on end as water depth levels on the road reached over 30 inches. Whilst we appreciate that the Ouse Washes are designed to hold floodwater from the Great Ouse catchment area, Welney Parish Council believe the problem has been exacerbated by the failure of the Environment Agency to adequately maintain the Great Ouse river system, thereby allowing a build-up of silt to raise overall bed levels in the Hundred Foot and Great Ouse Rivers, whilst huge silt banks have been allowed to form at various key points. This has drastically affected the EA’s ability to discharge water from the Ouse Washes, leaving Welney and surrounding villages to bear the brunt of the consequences. The situation has so far attracted media interest from local newspapers, television and radio, and has also been raised in the House of Commons by local MP Christopher Fraser. A meeting has since been held by Mr Fraser at which Borough, District and Parish Councillors, plus three senior Environment Agency Executives, were present, and it is now our intention to gather as much support as possible for our campaign to have the situation resolved to the satisfaction of local residents. Therefore, following consultation with adjoining Parish Councils, Welney PC is asking anyone from the surrounding area who has been inconvenienced by the 96-day road closure to put pen to paper and let us know how you were affected. All the letters received will be passed to the local MP. Points you may wish to raise include: a. The effect due to lost trade on local businesses b. The additional fuel costs to motorists forced to take lengthy diversions c. The additional CO2 emissions created by motorists having to make longer trips d. The burden on emergency services called to rescue motorists trapped in floodwater e. Why the silt in the rivers has been allowed to rise to such high levels f. Why there has been no recent study into the idea of raising the A1101 Wash Road g. Why small, rural communities are so often ignored by central government h. How the 96-day closure of an ‘A’ class road can be considered acceptable The above points are merely for guidance. Whether you are someone whose business has suffered; whose route to work is affected; whose children are affected regarding getting to school; or whether your life has been affected in other ways, please write and let us know. The louder our voice, the greater our chance of seeing this wholly unacceptable situation resolved. Thank you for your time. Pat Copeman (Mrs) Clerk to Welney Parish Council 1 Chestnut Avenue, Welney, Wisbech, Cambs PE14 9RG. Tel: 01354 610226 e-mail: welneypc@aol.com