MOVES to prevent a repeat of this area’s summer floods will be discussed at a public meeting next week.
The meeting – of Kirklees Council’s Denby Dale Area Committee – will be on Thursday evening.
The meeting, at Scissett Middle School, Wakefield Road, will be attended by an official from the Kirklees Emergency Planning Team and the council’s highways group engineer for drainage, Tom Ghee.
Committee chairman Clr Elaine Ward said: “In the event of another flood we have to be prepared with preventative measures we can put in place. The meeting will allow people to discuss this.
“It will also question the roles and responsibilities of agencies during the floods and their ability to respond to an emergency quickly.
“If we all work together a good plan of anti-flood action can be formed and we will be in a much better position to prevent flood water from entering peoples’ homes.”
Also at the meeting will be members of Skelmanthorpe Community Action Group (Scag).
Scag has criticised the Government’s Environment Agency for failing to act to prevent another flood in the Parkgate area.
Scag wants repairs to Baildon Dyke and a flood wall built after four homes were flooded in July.
Chairman Chris Ward said: “The Environment Agency has had money taken away and they will have priorities. As a group we have to keep their attention and maintain the pressure.
“We are looking for assistance in building a wall, but we’ve been told there’s no money. So we’ll have to do it ourselves. If the dyke had been maintained we wouldn’t have these problems.”
In June 400 homes were inundated in Kirklees – many of those in Clayton West, Scissett and Denby Dale.
Other issues, such as bus services, will be discussed at the meeting.
Clr Ward said: “Positive steps have been made with Metro and Stagecoach at a meeting with the Denby Dale and Kirkburton area committees.
“Metro and Stagecoach said they would be looking at bus routes and timings soon. A working party will meet the bus companies to put forwards its plan of action.”
