Campaigns

HUMBERSIDE MUST GO

In July 2009 Graham met with Christine Nolan, Head of External Relations at the Royal Mail.

At the meeting Graham presented the signed petitions from the residents of Beverley and Holderness calling for the removal of Humberside from the Royal Mail Postcode Address File.

He is now awaiting the results of the Postcomm review and will continue to press the Royal Mail into removing Humberside from its database. Additionally, it is understood the Royal Mail Address Management Unit has, during the last few weeks, sought the views of a number of organisations (solution providers) on the use of the information contained in the Postcode Address File and this is currently being evaluated.

Ms Nolan informed Graham that Postcomm (the Regulator) were to be undertaking a review of address information as part of their code of practice and the Royal Mail wanted to ensure that any changes made are aligned to the Regulator’s requirements. Graham understands, Postcomm is looking to commence its consultation in November and will be kept updated on this aspect.

HUMBER BRIDGE TOLLS

The campaign over the Humber Bridge tolls has taken another interesting turn. At the start of August 2009 Transport Minister Sadiq Khan announced he was not approving the Bridge Board’s proposed toll increase

Graham wrote to to him asking for a meeting to discuss what could happen next. That meeting was due to rtake place in November 2009 and invited MPs from both the North and South of the River Humber to attend with

The estimate for building the bridge in 1968 was around £28 million. As a result of Government procurement and mis-management, that figure trebled while the bridge was being built and it eventually cost £98 million. Under successive governments the debt has mushroomed in Treasury accounts and now stands at more than £330 million, £300 million more than the original estimate.

HUMBER FLOOD RISK MANAGEMENT STRATEGY

The strategy was published in March 2008 and recommends leaving 1,000 homes in the East Riding unprotected from rising tides and flooding.

In response to this Graham organised a public meeting at the Alexandra Hall, Hedon. The meeting was chaired by Graham where he was joined by Philip Winn, Humber Strategy Manager at the Environment Agency, Ed Davey, Holderness Branch Manager at the National Farmers Union and Councillor Jonathan Owen, Deputy Leader of the East Riding Council.

The drop-in meeting was attended by around 100 local residents who raised a number of views and issues regarding the affect of the proposed strategy. Graham said: “As an unelected body the Environment Agency needs to be scrutinised as closely as possible.

After all their decisions can have a huge impact on local communities. The residents at the meeting were clear about their concern for the implications of the strategy and didn’t feel they knew all the facts.

The Environment Agency agreed to review the strategy further and were pleased with the feedback received at the meeting. ” For further information on the Humber Flood Risk Management Strategy click this link.

In the summer of 2009 the Environment Agency announced it would be holding further consultations, including listening to local drainage boards, farmers and residents across the area, before making any final decisions on the flood risk management strategy.