Flooding Minister Rory Stewart today held his first meeting with local groups ahead of the new Cumbria Floods Partnership being established. 

The Cumbria Floods Partnership will help to put in place vital plans to support the area against future flooding. 

Minister Stewart met with representatives from Cumbria County Council, Keswick Flood Action Group, Cumbria Wildlife Trust and others to discuss the role of the partnership, covering:

Flood defences - identifying where additional action or defence measures might be needed. 

Upstream river flows - building on recent pilots in Yorkshire, the partnership will identify options for slowing rivers upstream, and through better management of river catchments, to alleviate the pressure on flood defences. 

Community involvement and resilience - better involvement of local residents and community in flood defence planning, and support for households and businesses. 

Minister for Flooding Rory Stewart said: “The Cumbria Floods Partnership will bring together residents, farmers, flood experts and businesses to examine our flood plans across the county. 

We will be looking at defences, at upstream protection, including tree-planting, and protection for individual households. 

“We are particularly keen that local voices and experience should shape our thinking. The record rain-fall in December was horrendous. And is a real impetus to take a fresh look at flooding across the County, so we can improve protection in the future."