Port bosses grilled over Lower Priory flooding

During the meeting, held on Friday, July 26, chairman, Chris Martin, chief executive Andy Jones and senior staff discussed plans for the Port’s future.

Most questions addressed to the senior staff were regarding flooding in Lower Priory and Havens Head in November last year.

Ian Bannister, a flooding victim, asked whether the board member's “hearts are actually in the community?”

“You talked about assets, preserving old buildings,” Mr Bannister said. “You didn’t think much about preserving buildings in the Lower Priory, like the arches which go back hundreds of years, which was put into dire straits [because of the flooding] along with our buildings and communities along with our welfare and safe being.”

Mr Bannister went on to query the Port’s 2017 corporate responsibility Atkins report, which he said states that the Port has “no works written procedure for sluicing/lowering the level of water.”

He added: “You never had one before and I believe you don’t have one to this day.”

Tim Bownes, engineering director at the Port, responded to Mr Bannister’s points.

He said: “In terms of the water levels, the water levels are a matter of record for that period. They were at that level because tide dictates that’s what they have to be at.”

He added: “We were operating rapid sluicing during that period, from the beginning of the 7th.”

However, Mr Bannister said they had been at capacity up to a week previously, and the Port had failed to keep the culverts clear.

“You took away tonnes [of waste after the flood], you cannot tell me those culverts were working correctly,” he said.

Mr Bownes said the fire service independently verified they had been working correctly.

Another resident disputed Mr Bownes claims that the water had been at high tide.

The resident said he went down to the dock when the flooding started and he saw it empty, which he believed is because the culvert was blocked.

“You have not been round to clear the debris in Hubberston lake, no one has been round to us,” he said.

“There’s tyres, a wheel stuck just before the trash screen. It should be empty, and it’s not, that tells me that there’s a blockage. Because when it’s very very dry that lake is nearly empty and it’s not now.”

Natalie Bannister, another flooding victim said it seemed the port considered the communities of Lower Priory and Havens Head as an “acceptable loss when valued against the continued development of Milford Haven dock and marina.”

She added: “Do you understand what the flood has done to the health and wellbeing of everyone in the community?”

Mr Martin, the chairman of the port suggested a separate meeting were the points raised by the residents could be discussed.

He said: “May I say how sorry we are that you have found yourselves in this situation, it’s desperate for you guys and I’m sorry that it has brought on some ill health.

“There are lots of claims there around the issues that we believe have been dealt with or not been dealt with.

“Let’s sit down with you after and find out where the disparages are and how we can give you better information than you’ve had from us as an organisation.”

Mr Martin has agreed to further discuss the issues with the residents in Lower Priory later today (Tuesday, July 30).

While flooding dominated the discussion, port bosses also discussed plans to encourage tourism and waste storage plans in Pembroke Dock.