It is now becoming an annual event – flooding on the River Severn. This week we have seen the barriers go up again in Bewdley and Wribbenhal. The Bewdley side of the river has its demountable barriers; the Wribbenhal side, the temporary barriers. But not for much longer. With £6.1 million secured from DEFRA last year, work is under way to provide a permanent solution to the flood issues at Beales Corner.
But with a complicated bank, the need for foundations to be sunk 14 metres, the issue of the demountable barriers having to cross the road, essential underground utilities that must not be interrupted, and complicated issues around Pewterer’s Ally, this cannot be delivered overnight. Moreover, digging up the river bank at a high risk time of year would make it impossible to deploy the existing temporary barriers in the event of a flood.
The good news is that after centuries of limited protection, the wait for Beales Corner will be over by, we hope, the end of next year. In the meantime, the teams from the Environment Agency, supported by local Fire and Rescue services, the police, local council workers and the volunteers from the Severn Area Rescue Association stand by to keep people safe. For that, we are all eternally grateful.
Meanwhile, the situation in Ukraine deteriorates.
Whilst this may be a problem that is in a distant part of Eastern Europe, it will, nonetheless have an impact on our lives.
Short of deploying a fully equipped British fighting force (we have sent some help in the form of rockets and some troop), our best response to the Russian aggression is to join the world in securing sanctions against Russia and prominent individuals.
Sanctions are there to make it harder for Russians to engage with the rest of the world. Our sanctions are against five Russian banks and three high net worth individuals. Other countries have brought in their own sanctions and together these are expected to make Russia think twice about continued invasion of Ukraine.
We can do a lot more, including the EU buying no more Russian gas. But whilst some of these sanctions need to be held back – after all, why play your whole hand now, ensuring that Russia has nothing further to lose? – some sanctions could hurt other countries. At a time when gas supplies are under pressure, with the consequent rise in energy prices, ceasing Russian gas is a double edged sword. But we must try everything before all out fighting.