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Fixing Shrewsbury floods 'isn't rocket science'

Ellen Knight
BBC Radio Shropshire
BBC Mark looking into the camera with a straight face. He's wearing a black polo shirt with royal blue collars and shoulders, with a blue and white logo on the left chest reading 'Chase car care centre'. He's stood in front of his garage, which is a single-storey whitewashed building with a blue sign above it - in white letters his company name is written.BBC
Mark Edwards owns Chase Car Care Centre, which regularly floods

Businesses in Shrewsbury have said they are frustrated by a perceived lack of action taken by authorities to tackle flooding, following a visit from MPs.

The Environmental Audit Committee's Flood Resilience Inquiry paid a visit to the town, which is a key case study they are examining in efforts to influence government policy.

Mark Edwards runs Chase Car Care Centre, which floods often, and said he feared locals' feedback would be "forgotten about."

A spokesperson for the committee said it shared locals' "sense of urgency on the need for better protection to this crucial issue."

MPs from the committee visited the Shropshire market town as part of efforts to understand the impact of flooding and explore how it can be tackled.

A group of around 20 people stood on the forecourt of Mark's business, a single-storey whitewashed building with a blue sign above it - in white letters the company name is written - Chase Car Care Centre. The group are facing away from the camera and talking to one another.
Members of the committee met with local businesses to hear their concerns

Mr Edwards, whose business is just metres from the River Severn, said he was sceptical of what the inquiry would achieve.

"I was hoping there was going to be an answer, a solution to what's going on - but obviously not," he said.

Dilwyn pictured smiling and looking into the camera. He's wearing a navy blue polo shirt with white writing that says 'Sabrina - goddess of the river.' He's stood by a road with a bridge overlooking the Severn.
Dilwyn Jones said tackling Shrewsbury's floods "isn't rocket science"

Dilwyn Jones is from Sabrina, which offers boat tours of Shrewsbury's River Severn, and said he felt frustrated by the MPs' visit.

"We just feel that we're banging our heads against the wall", he said, adding that he felt there was a tendency to "overcomplicate things."

"I don't think we need more pilot schemes - I don't really think it's rocket science," he said.

Toby and Julia stood side by side in front of a willow tree, both are smiling. Toby is wearing a white button-up shirt and Julia is wearing a beige tweed blazer with a white blouse.
MPs Toby Perkins and Julia Buckley spoke to businesses in Shrewsbury about their concerns

Julia Buckley, MP for Shrewsbury, and the committee's chair Toby Perkins, MP for Chesterfield, were amongst the delegation.

Buckley said she was "really hopeful that some of our recommendations will be taken up by government."

"I'm confident we'll write a fantastic report and put forward really very bold recommendations," she added.

Perkins said the inquiry would question how institutions work together to address flooding, as well as making sure housing was built without increasing flood risk.

"There's a number of recommendations in various areas, as well as the fact that we always want the government to spend more on these things," he said.

Siobhan smiling slightly and looking into the camera. She's wearing a light blue and white striped dress and is stood on a pavement with the road visible behind her with some trees.
Siobhan Connor provided evidence to the inquiry earlier in the year

Siobhan Connor from Shrewsbury Flood Action Group provided evidence to the inquiry earlier this year, and has urged the authorities to move faster.

"We're not particularly happy, we've been saying the same things again and again," she said.

"We've told them what needs to happen - we need to move at pace with this."

Katia looking into the camera and smiling slightly. She's wearing a dark green shirt with black dots on it. She's stood on Frankwell Bridge overlooking the Severn, with an arched bridge seen in the background.
Katia Sanhueza-Pino reckons local people are becoming more frustrated

Katia Sanhueza-Pino works for the National Flood Forum and lives in flood-prone Shrewsbury.

"Standing around and talking in terms of ideas that need to be developed into action is the first step - but that has been going on for years," she said.

"Residents and businesses in Shrewsbury are just tired of waiting."

A spokesperson for the Environmental Audit Committee stated that the group "knows that flooding is an issue that many communities across the country are deeply worried about."

They added that they were "grateful to the flood victims and officials we met at the five sites we visited" and added that they "share their sense of urgency on the need for better protection to this crucial issue."

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