Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what nature-based flooding solutions he plans to implement in South Cotswolds constituency.

Gloucestershire County Council, as Lead Local Flood Authority, coordinates a natural flood management partnership which plans Nature Based Solutions (NBS) projects across the county, including a scheme upstream of Cirencester to re-naturalise The Churn.

The Environment Agency (EA) funds and works with partners on NBS projects on the Upper Bristol Avon. Upstream of Malmesbury, the EA works with Bristol Avon Rivers Trust and on the Brinkworth Brook it is working with Wiltshire Wildlife Trust on the Wiltshire Rural Runoff Project. This project includes significant landowner engagement to raise awareness of NBS and opportunities to enhance sustainable land management practices, improve river habitat and water quality.

NBS measures upstream of Malmesbury will contribute towards reducing the height of flood peaks and will benefit properties at risk of flooding. The Brinkworth Brook project includes measures that could mitigate some flooding issues in the M4 corridor but will not stop flooding during larger events.

The EA is also keeping track of the small beaver population around Malmesbury, which are likely contribute positively to NBS in the future.