In Worcestershire, the lack of progress on Tenbury Wells flood defences has been included as one of only two Red Flags for the County.
The website says,
"Flood defences in Tenbury Wells
In recent years the centre of Tenbury Wells has been repeatedly flooded. People living in the town and the surrounding rural areas depend on the town for local services, shopping, jobs and recreation. Some of the businesses here cannot now get insurance cover and this will also impact on new businesses being able, or willing, to set up here. This means fewer services and jobs could be available in the future affecting young and old alike. There is a strong possibility that repeated flooding will mean the loss of businesses, such as hotels and local shops, and the heart of the town could be lost.
There is a viable scheme available to prevent flooding in the town. But the national system for allocating money to flood prevention works doesn't take into account the wider benefits to the community of protecting the businesses here. This means that the scheme scores pooly, and ranks low, on the national system against other flood defence schemes, and that there is little prospect of national funding being allocated under the current system for the foreseeable future.
Organisations within Worcestershire have worked hard for the last 5 years to try and find a solution but have been unable to secure the necessary funding. They have been able to reduce the initial cost of the scheme by looking at using local contractors to do the work. The councils working with the Environment Agency are continuing to explore a range of ways of getting the money together. A solution to the problem lies beyond the Local Strategic Partnership alone.
The prospects for getting a solution together are not good unless further concerted action is taken by regional and national agencies working with organisations in Worcestershire to find a way to secure the future prosperity of this rural town."
Harriett Baldwin said, "I am pleased to see that the Audit Commission has seen that the lack of progress on flood defences in Tenbury Wells is a problem for the town's economy. They have highlighted the flaws in the Environment Agency's formula, which fails to take this into account. This is exactly the point I have been making to all the different layers of government and I hope that the Audit Commission's report will have an impact."
http://oneplace.direct.gov.uk/infobyarea/region/area/Pages/areaoverview.aspx?region=55&area=427