Sir – Flood water storage is the answer to heavy rainfall events, not more dredging to send run-off ever faster downstream to inundate homes and businesses. A good example of using the floodplain can be found at Sherborne where the previous practice of land drainage to facilitate arable crops has been reversed and the old water meadows restored allowing flood water to settle and drain slowly into the River Windrush.

It would be much more sensible to use agricultural subsidies to encourage landowners to repeat this process in river valleys. Tree-planting schemes have also been shown to be immensely beneficial in terms of natural soakaways. Unless politicians can prevent heavy rainfall, their meaningless soundbites about flood prevention are just that. Present government policy is to decimate by cuts the Environment Agency, who are the proper arbiters of flood risk management.

Unfortunately, the present Minister of State seems determined to disregard informed advice and go back to policies which are likely to lead to more flooding in built-up areas.

David Reinger, Down Ampney