Grantham councillors criticise Reform UK’s decision to merge flooding committee with environment panel on first day in charge at Lincolnshire County Council

A councillor has called changes to the flooding scrutiny process a “gut punch” for those affected by major flood events in recent months.

The new Reform UK leadership scrapped the authority’s flooding committee on its first day in charge, opting instead to merge it with the environment committee, which already deals with issues such as waste and pollution.

Lincolnshire County Council is the lead local flood authority for the county and is responsible for managing the risk of flooding from surface water, ordinary watercourses and groundwater.

The scrutiny committee was set up to let councillors hold bodies such as Anglian Water, the Environment Agency and Internal Drainage Boards to account, but those bodies won’t automatically be invited to future committees.

South Kesteven district councillor Chris Noon (Grantham Independent) said it was an “unbelievable decision on day one”.

“What a gut punch for those living down near the park on Belton Lane,” he commented.

When asked for more details, the Harrowby ward councillor said he did not wish to go into further detail in public.

However, he added: “As a councillor I shall be contacting the correct departments, committees and councillors at LCC with my thoughts and will pass on any comments from my ward members to the aforementioned.

“I will try and understand why LCC have made the decisions they have and hopefully make some sense of it.”

Properties along the road were left devastated by the effects of the River Witham bursting its bank on Monday, January 6.

It is understood some residents have not yet been able to return to their homes as repairs continue.

Belton Lane wasn’t the only road affected, with Wyndham Park also left underwater, while sections of the A1, including Colsterworth services, also flooded.

Down the road, residents in Bottesford saw the village’s high street become submerged, with businesses and family homes seeing water about four inches deep inside their buildings.

In March, Grantham Town Council discussed setting up its own community resilience plan following the flooding.

In October 2024, Harlaxton Road and Belton Lane were both flooded following heavy rainfall, and other areas of Grantham have been affected several times in recent years.

Grantham town councillor for Springfield ward and former mayor Paddy Perry also expressed his disappointment in the “irresponsible and badly considered” decision.

“When you consider Lincolnshire as both a coastal and fenland county, many areas are more susceptible to flooding than other parts of the country,” he said.

“To remove a county committee that works with many other agencies to respond to the threat of flooding is irresponsible and badly considered.”

He accused the decision of being “purely political” and said the party had not been in local government long enough to consider the implications.

The new executive member for environment at Lincolnshire County Council, Coun Danny Brookes, defended the decision on Friday after opposition members warned it was “reckless, foolhardy and wrong”.

“We aren’t going to be taking our eye off the ball when it comes to flooding,” he said.

“Flooding affects residents, and I am one of those residents who was affected.

“Flooding is not just the sea — it’s also inland — and that’s a major concern of mine.”

He said the Environment Agency urgently needs more funding from central government.

“They need to be pressing the government to get more money because our sea defences need upgrading drastically,” he said.

“I also think dredging the dykes should be reconsidered. People frown on it and say it shouldn’t be done, but it worked in the past and I think it would work now.”