Pause developments to test flood effect first

It appears that our current Government is trying to offer some solace and are seen to be rather half heartedly, trying to help the residents of Fishlake overcome this awful situation. So far, this is simply basic appeasement and not enough is seen to be done to give the affected homes something tangible to latch on to, and offer them peace of mind?

My suggestion is for all these people to get a petition going, or at least, write in to their Local MP assuming he is worth his salt, and make a demand that substantial financial Government assistance is made to each and every resident affected by this disaster to help rebuild their lives. It is worth noting that we send around £13 billion overseas from are International Aid budget. What must be done is for someone to arrange a meeting with their MP or Higher Ranking Government official, and 'demand' that perhaps one hundred Million pounds is extracted from this Aid Budget and have it redirected into a rebuilding project for the residents of Fishlake of which cash can be drawn down as necessary, to assist in the rebuilding of the affected areas of the village.

Naturally, costs per household will vary, and also, to try to avoid overcharging by unscrupulous 'Builders' trying to Capitalise on people's misfortunes. Each Household will have to have a questionnaire, then backed up by estimates along with additional bills for any temporary accommodation. This will need vetting to with severe penalties for fraudulent claims. It will take a while, but if it works, costs can be quickly forthcoming so the residents will feel more at ease knowing the financial side will be taken care of without delay?

The final word will come from the Government as to whether or not this is possible, but consider this: We can find the money to pay the EU Billions, cough up for Wars and have already paid Billions in overseas Aid for many decades, but they MUST be prepared to acknowledge the adage. "Charity starts at home". A lot of the time, Government Aid is absorbed by the system in admin' and even finds its way into the pockets of organisers who cream of monies to their own ends. So, what's just £100 million (or have it all approximated), and set aside for our own people who have paid their Taxes for many years. Essentially, they deserve to receive much more Government help rather than just a couple of thousands pounds towards the costs. This to me would be a insult to me and anger the residents of Fishlake as a 'fob off' which is such a small amount of cash as to be almost useless to cover the rebuilding of just one room of a ground floor house. More if it is a Bungalow?

All they need now is to find someone who is prepared to mediate with the Government and organise a group of people who can gain TV Publicity which will make Boris Johnson stand up and take more notice than of late, and offer this additional financial support. This will also be made available to help bolster the Local Flood defences. After all, we can barely support our Homeless, because 'we don't have the money', but we can as mentioned, send billions abroad to all and sundry, so why not there in Fishlake, bearing in mind that many cannot get Insurance against 'Acts of God', which itself cannot be proven as to who actually made up that Metafore without a proof that there is actually someone or something tangible in which to place the blame?

An acknowledgement of this e-mail wouldn't go amiss, but let's see what lengths people are prepared to go to get the Government to listen. After all, the Grenfell residents campaigned, so why not Fishlake. What did the Government do for Tewksbury in a similar but less bad flood situation?

Chris Olney

West Sussex