‘Things can only get cleaner,’ says South West Norfolk MP Terry Jermy

In his fortnightly column, MP Terry Jermy discusses flooding and the protection of our waterways…

This week I had a meeting with the environment secretary Steve Reed MP in Westminster, where we discussed the important issue of flooding and the protection of our waterways.

One of the big concerns raised on the doorstep when I was campaigning to be elected was the state of our rivers, streams and seas. When Labour left office in 2010, over a quarter of English rivers were judged as being of good ecological standard. By 2022, studies showed that not one river was healthy. Further, data shows that in 2023 there were 3.6 million hours of sewage spills, compared to 1.75 million hours in 2022. In South West Norfolk alone there were a staggering 310 sewage dumps into our rivers, which was a 93% increase on the year before.

That is why the Labour Government has brought in the Water (Special Measures) Bill which is a landmark piece of legislation to crack down on water bosses polluting Britain’s rivers, lakes and seas. It includes the most significant increase in enforcement powers in a decade and provides Ofwat with the powers to ban the payment of bonuses to water bosses if they fail to meet high standards to protect the environment.

In South West Norfolk we are fortunate to be home to many chalk basin rivers, which are incredibly rare and precious. Unfortunately, they are increasingly coming under threat from pollution, and many are in a poor state. A few weeks ago, I was delighted to visit some of our streams such as those at South Acre and Larling and I was joined by the team from Norfolk Rivers Trust to learn more about the challenges and opportunities they face. I’ve also met staff from the Internal Drainage Board in Southery to see the pump in action and met Shouldham Parish Council to talk about flooding concerns. Right across South West Norfolk people want to see our waterways cleaned up and flooding concerns addressed – they’re important environmentally but also from a leisure and tourism point of view so are important to our local economy.

Whilst meeting with the environment secretary this week I highlighted the need for more investment in our flood defence infrastructure because we know West Norfolk is particularly at risk. I believe there will be announcements soon and hope we receive a share of this record investment from the Government. I’ve also been pressing the Government on a longer-term solution for the funding of internal drainage boards and I am pleased the Government is exploring this issue and recognises how crucial their work is in areas such as West Norfolk.