LANDOWNERS in Somerset claim the county council is in danger of choosing the wrong options for a 20-year plan to combat flooding on the Levels.

The Country Land and Business Association has also warned the council that it is running the risk of alienating the people it should be working with to tackle longterm flooding problems.

CLA south director John Mortimer said: “Our concern is that riparian owners have rights and duties in relation to river management and that appears to have been forgotten.

“Over time those responsibilities have been absorbed into the immense bureaucracy of the Environment Agency which also took control of all operations on the main rivers – in particular control over the dredging and subsequent maintenance on the main river channels.”

CLA members say they are unhappy because they feel they have been excluded from the consultation process.

Mr Mortimer said: “We do not want the Secretary of State to be under the misapprehension that we have been involved in this process or that we are at all happy with the proposals – because we are not.

“We shall be asking the Secretary of State to review the process by which the plans have been drawn up, to listen to alternative proposals both for funding and for the effective delivery of river and land management.”

Somerset County Council leader John Osman has said he is seeking a joint meeting with Environment Secretary of State Elizabeth Truss and Communities and Local Government Secretary Eric Pickles to resolve questions surrounding Somerset Rivers Authority funding.

He said: “Until we get their absolute assurance that the Government will commit to the vital funding we need to set up this key authority for Somerset, we will continue banging the drum for the investment our county’s flood affected communities deserve.”