The Environment Agency and Tenbury Town Council are to meet to review plans to deal with serious flooding, it was confirmed today. The pledge was made following a meeting arranged by West Worcestershire MP Harriett Baldwin to review progress on the permanent flood defence strategy. The town's mayor Mark Willis agreed to work with the agency to assess what steps can be taken to prepare for a major incident such as the serious flooding in 2007. The plan has not been reviewed for several years and local councillors agreed to collaborate on a new response strategy for the next time serious flooding threatens the town. The town's mayor and deputy mayor Eric Hudson, Malvern Hills District Councillor Tony Penn and Worcestershire County Councillor Ken Pollock all gathered to hear the latest updates from the Environment Agency on plans to permanently protect the town. As work on the river wall starts alongside the construction of the new Tesco store, Harriett asked the agency to formally report back on what impact this work may have on the town's resilience. Harriett commented: “It has been some time since the town council consulted local people on the creation of a permanent flood defence plan and with the start of work on the Tesco site, I was keen to get all the key representatives in one room to review progress. “As part of our discussions we asked the Environment Agency about early warning measures and flood resilience planning and it was clear that this needs refreshing. “The town council and Malvern Hills District Council have agreed to immediately review these processes in the hope that we can have something ready in case flooding threatens the Teme again. “The wider discussions about a permanent scheme are still on-going and are still unaffordable but I hope that this meeting will stimulate further thinking about how the town can be better protected when the next flood comes.” Photo: (l-r) Richard Bentley, Mark Bowers, Ken Pollock, Harriett Baldwin MP, Mark Willis, Dave Edwards, Amanda Smith, Tony Penn, Eric Hudson.