Calls for more long-term flood protection for Chippenham by local MP
Sarah Gibson is calling for more long-term flood protection for Chippenham after what she says is a lack of funding for towns outside mayoral areas
Wiltshire MP Sarah Gibson is calling for more long-term flood protection for Chippenham after what she says is a lack of funding for towns outside mayoral areas.
She challenged the Flooding Minister in Parliament, saying communities like hers are still at risk, despite improvements to warning systems.
The calls come after parts of Chippenham were hit by serious flooding last November, and as the town remains on alert for more bad weather.
Speaking in the House of Commons 09 December 2025, Ms Gibson confronted the Minister for Flooding at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) – Emma Hardy – about funding for flooding resilience for areas outside of Mayoral Authorities. The Liberal Democrat MP for Wiltshire spoke in the House of Commons just before the Environment Agency downgraded the flood alert for Chippenham but maintains that Wiltshire remains vulnerable to further flooding and must benefit from further financial investment.
The exchange between Sarah Gibson MP and the DEFRA Minister follows devastating flooding in November 2024, when Storm Bert inundated parts of Chippenham town centre and High Street. In the aftermath, Ms Gibson secured a ministerial visit, bringing the Flooding Minister to Chippenham to see the damage first-hand.
During the debate, the Chippenham MP made the point that, “flood resilience is vitally important and the fact that areas that are not within a mayoral authority seem to be unable to secure any funding for anything”. The Minister acknowledged the severe impact of flooding in Chippenham in 2024, describing it as “absolutely awful”, and pointed to recent work to improve flood alerts and warning systems following last year’s floods.
'I would rather not keep inviting Ministers'
Speaking after the Ministerial exchange, Ms Gibson commented: “I would rather not keep inviting Ministers to see for themselves what devastation floods bring to Wiltshire.
“When flooding threatens again so soon after last year, it shows that warnings and short-term fixes are not enough. Communities like ours need proper, long-term flood resilience funding. Ministers are yet to make a good case as to why areas like ours, which are outside of mayoral authorities, continue to struggle to secure funding for flood prevention - despite facing repeated flood risk.
“I welcome the Ministers attempts to improve the warning system, but they do not replace physical protection. At the end of the day, alerts do not keep water out of homes or shops. Our residents and businesses deserve long-term investment to protect them from being flooded.
“I would much rather focus on prevention than recovery. It is time the Government put funding in place to stop our communities from flooding in the first place.”
'Our towns and cities are better protected than last year'
Floods Minister Emma Hardy said: "Flooding devastates communities, but this government's preparations mean our towns and cities are better protected than last year.
"We inherited flood assets in their worst condition on record. Our immediate response was to redirect £108 million into maintenance and repair works.
"But this is just the start. We're investing at least £10.5 billion – the largest programme ever – in flood defences until 2036. This will build new defences and repair assets across the country, protecting our communities for decades to come."