As part of his ongoing commitment to improving flood resilience across North West Norfolk, James Wild MP recently visited key assets of the King's Lynn Internal Drainage Board (IDB) to assess how recent investment is strengthening the district's capacity to manage water levels and protect communities from increasingly intense rainfall events.
James met staff from the Water Management Alliance, including Project Delivery Manager, Kari Nash, and Project Manager, Mel Neale, at Greenbank Pumping Station which is a critical facility protecting Marshland St James, parts of Wisbech, and hundreds of acres of high-grade farmland across both North West and South West Norfolk.
At the site, James reviewed the installation of new control panels and heard more about how the planned replacements of existing pumps will improve the station's operational efficiency and reliability, which are due in Spring 2026, forming part of a £920,000 investment.
He also raised concerns about the financial pressures that current funding structures place on local taxpayers in flood-prone areas and stressed the need for reform to ensure a fairer, more resilient approach to protecting communities, farmland, and the local economy.
From Greenbank, James then travelled to inspect two recently completed culvert replacements at West Drove North and Harps Hall Road culverts, which together strengthen the district's drainage network and its capacity to handle more frequent and severe weather events.
The Storm Recovery funding, allocated following the unprecedented winter of 2023, has delivered substantial investment across the King’s Lynn IDB district. In addition to the £920,000 at Greenbank and £1 million for major culvert repairs crossing highways in North West Norfolk, the programme has supported a number of other projects which sit alongside the Board's routine maintenance of nearly 600 kilometres of watercourses and ongoing upkeep of pumping stations and other assets across the district.
Speaking after the visit, James Wild MP said:
"This visit to Greenbank Pumping Station underlined the critical importance of continued investment in our flood defences at a time when extreme weather events are becoming more frequent, and it was valuable to see firsthand how local investment is being used to modernise our water management infrastructure and strengthen essential services.
"It was also a valuable opportunity to discuss the pressures current funding structures place on council taxpayers in areas at flood risk and I committed to working with MPs, councils, and water management partners to reform the funding system and secure a fairer, more sustainable approach to flood risk management."
