Burnley MP Antony Higginbotham column: Storm Christoph shows Padiham flood defences are long overdue

Storm Christoph, as it has been named, is also bringing with it the potential for flooding.

For some residents in Burnley, but particularly those in Padiham, this has become far too frequent an occurrence.

Throughout the last 12 months I have worked hard to ensure that there are no further delays in getting the flood defences that have been promised for so long, off the ground.

These were well overdue when I was elected to represent the borough, and I’m pleased that this summer, thanks to an extra £2 million secured from Government last year, diggers will be rolling in to Padiham to begin construction.

In the short term I know periods of heavy rainfall bring with them a huge amount of anxiety and that is especially true in weeks like this when alerts get issued.

Throughout the last few days, I have received regular updates from the Environment Agency, getting information on the risks involved in this latest period of heavy rain and where any impact could be seen.

I will continue to keep residents updated and would encourage those who don’t do so, to follow me on Facebook where I post any updates I receive as well as links to the Environment Agency alert sites.

This week we have also seen a significant ramp up in vaccinations, with more than four million doses now having been administered across the UK.

I know how difficult this period has been for everyone, but particularly those who are extremely clinically vulnerable and so have had to shield.

That’s why it’s right that as progress has been made, the NHS is able to begin inviting more people.

From this week those who are over 70 years old, and those who are clinically extremely vulnerable, have started to be offered the vaccination bringing hope to millions of people nationally and across Burnley and Padiham.

The process for receiving the vaccination remains the same and for all those eligible the NHS will contact you.

This will normally come through a GP practice, but letters are also now being issued for the National Booking Service, allowing appointments to be booked online at one of the vaccination centres.

Increasing our capacity to deliver this lifesaving vaccine is a priority and the new mass vaccination centre in Blackburn Cathedral, working alongside Burnley General Hospital, St

Peter’s Centre and a large-scale centre in Manchester is very welcome.

I’d also like to take this opportunity to thank all of the volunteers who have come forward to help with this task; manning the sites, taking details and giving our NHS workers all the help they need during this period to get us safely vaccinated.

This is a mammoth national effort but day-by-day, week-by-week, we are making enormous strides at protecting those who are most vulnerable so we can soon start to relax the restrictions that have been difficult, but necessary.

On a final note, this week the Government has announced further progress in ensuring that all school aged girls in Burnley and Padiham receive free period products if needed; building on school reforms which will see health education taught in all state funded primary and secondary schools.

This is testament to the huge amount of work that organisations like The BEST Centre in Burnley have been doing making sure no girl misses school due to not having access to these necessities and I’ve been proud to be championing this cause with them.