Residents must be listened to, says McMurray MLA on Newcastle flooding
South Down Alliance MLA Andrew McMurray has commented on the recent flooding in Newcastle during a Members’ Statement in the Assembly.
The South Down MLA said: “I want to thank the agencies that were involved in the emergency response on the ground, as well as the local residents, who are often the first line of defence.
“We seem to be speaking about this kind of issue all too often these days – infrastructure is failing to stand up to the severe weather events we are seeing.
“Ultimately, whatever way we cut the climate change debate, our oceans are getting warmer and that means that we will have more intense storm periods more and more often.
“The residents affected need to be listened to, need to be engaged with in order to find out the cause of this more recent flooding and how best to treat it.
“Newcastle Flood Resilience Group have been very active on this for a number of years now and they are finding it more and more infuriating that actions on the ground aren’t necessarily marrying up with what’s discussed.
“They need to be listened to.”
