00:00I'm Josh Simons, I'm the Member of Parliament for Makerfield and we're here today in the
00:05centre of Platt Bridge on Templeton Road that was badly flooded on New Year's Eve and New
00:10Year's Day. And I've been here after I invited the Minister for Flooding, Emma Hardy, to
00:14come and look at the damage that the flooding did and demonstrate that the government is
00:18listening and that it understands the scale of investment required to make sure that in
00:22the long term this does not happen again. At the end of the day, the scale of investment
00:27required to make sure that this doesn't happen again means that the major project, the Environment
00:33Agency, have been analysing and thinking about that needs to be delivered in full. That is
00:38the only thing at the end of the day that will protect my constituents who live on this
00:42road and all around the centre of Platt Bridge, but also will protect residents in Hindley
00:47and right along the path of the investment project and that's what I'll be working with
00:51the government to see over the next few days and weeks.
00:54So the more I've learned about what causes flooding, the more complicated I've realised
00:57that it is. So if only it were as simple as one wall. What the flood defence project that's
01:03required needs to do is it needs to install storage right away along, so that means storage
01:08in Aspel, it means storage in Low Hall and it also needs to include walls and flood defences
01:15along the course of the river and it all needs to be integrated. They've got to think carefully
01:19about where the water will flow. Now if that major project gets delivered, it will protect
01:24not only current residents, my constituents in Hindley and also here in Platt Bridge,
01:29it will also help to protect potential future developments in the South Hindley site that
01:34is in the Greater Manchester Strategic Framework. It cannot take as long as some have said that
01:39it might take is the bottom line and you know I need to do, I'm committed to trying to do
01:45two things. First is to make sure that funding gets delivered so that we actually get the
01:48project and that is not guaranteed at this point. It's important to underscore that.
01:52The Minister today announced £2.4 billion investment in flood defences across the North
01:56West. My job is to make sure that we locally benefit from that investment. So that's the
02:01first thing is to get the investment and the second thing is to make sure that the project
02:04happens in a way that residents will feel as fast as possible.
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