Peter Aldous on Storm Surge

It is to be hoped that last week's storm surge provides a wake-up call to the Government that additional funds must be provided to improve flood and sea defences along the East Coast and that the formula which is used to determine their strategy must be changed.

This is historic and must be updated to take in to account the significant costs associated with the current ill-conceived "managed retreat" policy.

It is wrong to put so many householders at risk, to place them in a position where they might not be able to obtain insurance cover and for there to be talk of evacuating settlements.

At a time of global uncertainty and rising food prices, it is wrong to allow thousands of acres of agricultural land to be given up to the sea.

The effect of salt water on river habitats and reed beds will have dramatic environmental effects, threatening species, such as the bittern, with extinction.

The economic implications could be profound. The surge resulted in the closure of 2 of the most important links to Lowestoft and Waveney; the railway to Norwich and the A12. The former is still not back in operation, whilst the closure of the A12 at Blythburgh illustrated the shortcomings of the proposed flood risk strategy for the Blyth Estuary, so quickly after it was announced.

It is vital that the policy is reviewed and the necessary funds are forthcoming to address these challenges. At present Suffolk is being short-changed by this Government and the social, economic and environmental implications if no changes are made will be far-reaching.