Farmer calls for flooding support from government

A tenant farmer has called for more support for farmers from the government and flooding agencies.

Ed Tate, said he had lost count of a number of flooding incidents he experienced during the 20 years he had lived and worked on the outskirts of Shrewsbury.

Mr Tate started the year with much of his land under water and said the volume of floodwater was often enough to rise to a level above his head.

A spokesperson for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said it was "taking action now to protect farmers' businesses" and it understood how "devastating" flooding could be.

Farmers like Mr Tate store water in pools to protect other communities, but it comes at a cost.

He regularly allows his land to flood in order to protect properties downstream, meaning he has to move his livestock, his crops can be lost and he has to pay to repair any other damage every time a flood occurs.

"Farmers, if they're given the right support, we can really hold that water on our land," Mr Tate said.

"This particular field here works as a super sponge to help mitigate downstream flooding, but we do need that support in order to manage this land in environmentally sensitive way."

Defra said its immediate action included "a record two-year investment of £2.65bn to maintain, repair and build flood defences across the country", as well as £57m to support farmers impacted by flooding, through the Flood Recovery Fund.

The Liberal Democrat MP for North Shropshire, Helen Morgan, said more needed to be done to support farmers like Mr Tate.

"What we'd like to see is a coherent approach to compensate farmers for holding all that water upstream and stopping houses from getting flooded."

Mr Tate does not doubt that his land will flood again, however he is hopeful the government and other agencies will work together to help support farming communities.

You can watch the full BBC Midlands Today special programme on Wednesday from 18:30 GMT on BBC One.

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