LLECHRYD residents forced out of their homes last month when the River Teifi burst its banks have renewed their criticism of Ceredigion County Council in the wake of the worst floods for 30 years.

Members of the newly-formed Ceredigion Flood Survivors’ Action and Support Group have slammed the local authority for their ‘lack of an emergency plan’ and described the council’s subsequent response as ‘woefully inadequate’.

Spokesperson Helen Jones, herself a flood victim, said: “Most people have no idea of the sheer number of households that have been affected.

“We have started this action group to support each other on Facebook and to raise political and ecological issues around the occurrence of the floods and also as a response to the lack of action by the county council.”

Diane Goodfellow, of Adam Street, Llechryd, said: “The council do not seem to have had the legally-required Local Emergency Plan in place, or if so they certainly did not follow it.”

Now Dinah Mulholland, Welsh Labour’s Parliamentary Candidate for Ceredigion at last year’s General Election, has lodged a Freedom of Information request calling on County Hall to reveal such a plan.

“Under the Civil Contingencies Act 2004 all local authorities, in their capacity as Category One Responders, have a statutory obligation to publish their local emergency plan for civil contingencies,” she said.

“I have asked the council to provide a copy of their Local Emergency Plan - the date it was completed and published and of any revisions as well as the dates for when the plan has been put into action since 2004 and up to the date of the request. From the breadth of that information we should be able to judge whether they have complied with the law and their duty of care towards Ceredigion residents.”

However, Ms Jones suspects she already knows the answer.

Meanwhile, local county councillor Clive Davies has confirmed that out of 21 properties flooded, the occupants of 14 have had to be re-housed.

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