Erosion Caused By Flooding

Part of 1. Questions to the Minister for Climate Change – in the Senedd at 1:55 pm on 8 December 2021.

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Photo of Hefin David Hefin David Labour 1:55, 8 December 2021

I wrote to you, Minister, on 7 October asking for a meeting to discuss a problem faced by residents in Caerphilly who face potential damage to their homes due to the problem of river erosion. Notwithstanding your answer, I'd just like to go through the scenario with you and ask for a response. One group of residents at Celyn Avenue in Caerphilly have experienced an increase in incidents of erosion and subsequent flooding in their gardens, which back on to the banks of the Nant yr Aber river. Natural Resources Wales have advised the residents that they can't access any funding or support for flooding because it's their gardens, as opposed to their homes, that are affected, so these properties are not accorded a high priority according to the flood risk management model. However, residents are concerned that their homes will be flooded eventually, because Nant yr Aber is rising and its banks are wearing away, not just on their property but below their property, which isn't part of their property, due to climate change and increased rainfall. Natural Resources Wales say they cannot legally spend public money on mitigating and preventing river erosion, only on flooding, and they don't have statutory powers to do so and can only work within the remit set for them by the Welsh Government. A key issue here is that the cost of repairing and putting this right for those properties in Celyn Avenue goes beyond the means—way beyond the means—of those residents who live there; they simply cannot afford it. They're elderly residents, they haven't got the money—