A councillor has slammed a fellow committee member for ‘laughing’ at remarks made about flooding in St Neots.
The exchange took place during a meeting of Cambridgeshire County Council’s Environment and Green Investment Committee on March 14.
Cllr Stephen Ferguson interrupted his statement to call out fellow councillor Cllr Steve Tierney after highlighting the extent to which flooding had impacted the town.
He said: “I realise how much hard work has gone in to preventing flooding in our towns. In 2020, St Neots was flooded three different times in three different ways.
“In August, the high street was flooded because the previous administration had failed to clean the drains for five years forcing…
“It’s not funny Cllr Tierney. It’s not nonsense.”
Ferguson claimed that a Freedom of Information request confirmed the previous administration had failed to take necessary steps to prevent flooding in St Neots and Huntingdonshire.
The exchange comes more than two months after the Environment Agency issued a flood warning for St Neots following the extreme weather conditions of Storm Henk over concerns the River Great Ouse could impact the town and neighbouring suburbs.
The former St Neots mayor has blamed drain blockages on exacerbating the flooding which hit the town in the summer of 2021 and claimed that around 150 blocked drain reports had been closed without action.
Cllr Ferguson told The Hunts Post: “I was genuinely shocked at Cllr Tierney’s response during my statement about flooding in St Neots and how the situation is improving.
“We’ve had multiple flooding events since August 2020. Flooding has been caused largely by how overwhelmed the drains had become, with some residents forced out of their houses for nearly a whole year.
He added: “Other than having your house burned down, I think flooding is possible the worst thing that could happen so it’s something I take very seriously and why I was so shocked to see an opposition member laughing as I spoke.”
Families living in Mill Lane, between Little Paxton and St Neots, are demanding action after the road was forced to temporarily close at the start of the year following heavy rain.
A petition is calling on the county council to tackle the issue, which it claims is causing businesses to lose income and forcing residents to make detours.
Among several suggestions to avoid future road closures, the petition recommends flood defences and improvements to the road and bridge.
The county council recently completed urgent resurfacing works on the road which opened shortly after.
Tim Wylie, chair of the St Neots Flood Liaison Action Group (FLAG) described Tierney’s conduct as “disappointing” considering the damage caused to the town.
He said: “I was angered and disappointed at Tierney’s behaviour whose administration’s decision to cease gully maintenance directly impacted the amplitude of flooding in St Neots in August 2020.
“He either has a very short memory or has decided not to remember.”
Responding to The Hunts Post’s request for comment, Cllr Tierney said: “Cllr Ferguson made an incorrect accusation, trying to make political capital over my smiling in a meeting by inaccurately trying to suggest what I was smiling at - and I corrected his error.
“I admire any councillor who cares about their area and who works to improve things, which I clearly said. However, I find his political grandstanding rather silly, and it does make me smile when he does it. "
He added: “I made no comment that was anything to do with St Neots, and his attempt to suggest I did is simply outright nonsense.”
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