COUNCILS are to be stripped of the power to divert money meant for flood defences to other cash-strapped services.

The Government's decision means there will be no repeat of the flood funding crisis in 2001, when local authorities from West and South Yorkshire threatened to scupper plans for vital new defences at Malton and Norton.

They refused to sanction a massive rise in local authority levies to the Yorkshire Regional Flood Defence Committee, which the Environment Agency said was needed to pay for new defences and repairs to existing scheme.

Malton's scheme eventually went ahead after intensive campaigning by residents, backed by the Evening Press, but other defence work had to be put back.

Now the Government has decided cash will be paid directly to the agency in future - denying councils the right to choose how the cash is spent. Councils will still be able to raise extra money to be spent on flood defences if they win the support of the regional flood defence committee.

Mr Morley said the new arrangements would provide "greater certainty" and allow long-term planning.

Meanwhile, pleas by Stamford Bridge businesses for the Government to get involved in flood schemes much earlier on have been answered by Mr Morley.

Business leader Chris Brack said earlier this week that he feared work on long-awaited flood defences in the village may be delayed because Defra has not yet approved a grant towards the project. If Defra does not give the go-ahead by May, the defences will not be ready and watertight in time for the next winter flooding season. He said it was ridiculous for Defra to become involved at the final stage, and should have been in right from the start.

Now Mr Morley has announced that approval processes for flood schemes will be streamlined, with Defra engineers considering schemes at an earlier and more strategic level.

Updated: 10:20 Thursday, March 13, 2003