Letter of the week An unexpected liability
YOUR story ‘Dead in the water’ (Town & Country, November 9) talks about shortcomings in flood riskmanagement on the part of the Environment Agency (EA). My family owns two moorings on the River Adur and I had rather a shock earlier this year, when the EA informed us that, as a result of a change in the law in 2014, we now have certain riparian ownership obligations and are responsible for maintenance of our portion of new flood defences—and, theoretically, are liable for any damage to 2,400 homes should our piece of the defence fail.
We have no reason to believe that it will, but the cost could be enormous. The EA has since said that it would expect to cover any costs, but it’s unable to guarantee this. Many COUNTRY LIFE readers may find that they are now carrying a greater risk than they were aware of. Mike Wooldridge, West Sussex