Prince of Wales tells villagers 'holistic' approach is needed to tackle flooding

ByAngharad Thomas

BBC Wales

The Prince of Wales has said a "holistic" approach is needed to tackle severe flooding, as a small Welsh village prepares for the upcoming storm season.

Residents in Skenfrith, Monmouthshire, have faced four major floods in the past six years.

An extreme flood last winter had a devastating impact on the village, when the River Monnow burst its banks after Storm Claudia brought a month's worth of rain in just 24 hours to parts of England and Wales.

Prince William was visiting the area to learn about how communities have been affected by recent flooding and what measures were being taken by local authorities and other agencies to mitigate future incidents.

Over the years, families have reported that their homes and possessions had been destroyed by the floods. In 2019, about 25 homes were evacuated in the village following flooding and a power cut after heavy rain.

The prince sympathised with residents who might be "anxious" about extreme weather events he said were no longer "one in 50-year" occurrences but instead seemed to be happening every year.

On Thursday, the prince spoke to villagers Rod and Helen Wyatt at their garden gate and was told how the water almost topped gravestones in a cemetery opposite during a flood.

The couple have now tiled the ground floor of their house and live with the threat of further flooding.

Rod, who has lived in his home for 10 years, made light of the experience when he told Prince William that, at one point, "we had to give up really, we got two bottles of Prosecco and went to watch Strictly upstairs".

The prince replied: "It must be so demoralising for you now, the worry each year you've got to go through that again, potentially, is becoming more frequent.

"They keep talking about a one in 50-year event, it doesn't make sense anymore.

"It might be in the researching and scientific point of view - it's happening every year now, it's mad.

"So, it's trying to understand how we can do a better holistic view of the whole catchment area, so we're dealing with the whole problem."

He listed a number of ideas, from "slowing the water down" using farming landscaping remedies, to tree planting and better monitoring "so we know when things might be getting worse".

Prince William discussed the ideas in detail while later meeting representatives from environmental charity Stump Up for Trees at Great Tre-Rhew Farm in Monmouthshire.

The charity, founded in 2020, aims to plant one million native trees across south Wales and Bannau Brycheiniog, also known as the Brecon Beacons.

The prince joined volunteers harvesting seeds from a field maple tree and planted a sessile oak tree - designated as the national tree of Wales.

To access the trees, he had to climb over a barbed wire fence and use a small step, joking that he did not want to rip his trousers.

As he harvested seeds from the tree, he noted he was taller than others present, adding: "I'm going to reach up here and get these higher ones."

The charity collected 35,000 seeds last year that were used to grow new trees for planting, and hopes to increase this to 60,000 this year.

The prince spoke to Kate and Jim Beavan, of Great Tre-Rhew Farm, and Jenny Knight, the director of Stump Up for Trees.

After the visit, Knight paid tribute to Prince William for "looking at not just the problems but the solutions as well".

Representatives from the Duchy of Cornwall also joined the visit to share learning about nature recovery, climate-resilient forestry and to start a long-term partnership.

Knight added "knowledge exchange is so valuable" and said working together across different areas would have a greater impact.

At the end of the conversation, William discussed his enjoyment of cider, which is made on the farm.

"He said 'one pint a day keeps the doctor away'," Knight said.