MP says flood affected cities should get new protection

New flood defenses must be installed “as soon as possible” after devastating New Year’s Day floods left cities across Greater Manchester inundated, an MP has said.

Flood Minister Emma Hardie visited Platt Bridge and Lilford Park in Wigan and Leigh on Monday, where residents and businesses are still recovering.

He said there had been talks about potential new flood plans in the area, with the Government setting aside £2.4 billion for new defenses across the country.

Makerfield MP Josh Simmons said he wanted to see “diggers digging ground by 2028” at Platte Bridge to protect it from future flooding.

Hardy’s visit saw him meet with the Environment Agency, which estimated that around 99 homes in Wigan had been flooded.

he told Local Democracy Reporting Service They had “a really good conversation about different possible actions or plans that could be pursued”.

Simmons said hundreds of properties along Borsden Brook, Hay Brook and the Douglas River were at risk of flooding and a “major project” was needed.

Mia Davie, 69, moved from Islington, London, to her rented house on Walthue Lane in Platte Bridge to care for her mother.

She is staying in temporary accommodation but has returned to assess the damage and said she has “lost everything”.

“This is devastating. Like many Wigan residents I now have to go on a waiting list for a council property,” he said.

“After moving to London to look for work, I always wanted to come back north, but I didn’t expect this.”

Don and Phillip Royds own their home on Templeton Road and woke up on New Year’s Day to find their living room underwater.

Don, 60, said he would like to sell his home and move elsewhere, but questioned who would want to buy the property after the flood.

“Unless something can be done to stop this from happening again, we’re stuck here,” he said.

Partners Barry Beasant and Maxine Hayes, owners of Right Choice Bathrooms on Walthue Lane, said the business had lost thousands of pounds.

“The walls of our showroom are still drying, but the walls are still wet,” Mr. Beazant said.

“The water was two feet deep. And we could see that Iceland was like an Olympic swimming pool.”

Mike Horton, co-owner of Poole’s Domestics, which sells home electrical appliances, said he is reluctant to reopen at his current location.

“We are opening a new showroom on Makerfield Way in Innes,” he said.

“It’s really sad for the area. We’re not insured because of the floods in 2015, so it’s best for us to move.”