Network Rail ordered to provide flood risk data for Brighton and Hove

Brighton and Hove has been “deemed to be at high risk from flooding events”, according to a council report.

But when public bodies were asked to come together for a workshop to look at ways to protect the city, not all organisations appeared to be taking it seriously.

A Brighton and Hove City Council committee minute said: “Some of the larger stakeholders did not seem to be fully engaged and this seemed to be a national issue.

“The workshop recommended that representation be made to DEFRA (the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) regarding Network Rail‘s inadequate provision of information thus far.”

Councillor Ollie Sykes told a scrutiny committee meeting at Hove Town Hall that DEFRA had intervened.

He told the Environment and Community Safety Overview and Scrutiny Committee that the council now had a named member of Network Rail staff who would provide information about flood risks.