Villagers in Monmouthshire were invited to a meeting with different agencies this week to push for a meaningful long-term solution to flooding in the area.

Scenes witnessed during Storm Claudia depicted the fourth time Skenfrith was flooded in three years in November.

The meeting, held yesterday in Skenfrith Village Hall, brought residents together with representatives from the Welsh Government, Natural Resources Wales (NRW), Gwent Police, Monmouthshire County Council and the Wye and Usk Foundation.

The MP for Monmouthshire, Catherine Fookes MP, said people there now ‘hope’ water won’t enter their homes when it rains.

“Since becoming MP, my team and I have been doing everything we can to ensure Skenfrith residents receive the flood defences they desperately need,” she said.

“This meeting is one of many we’ve organised with residents and NRW to push for faster progress. Life here is incredibly tough for people when the rain starts. The stress, the rush to move belongings upstairs, and the hope that water won’t enter their homes again - despite the individual measures they already take - is exhausting.”

Flood levels in the village during Storm Claudia were the highest ever recorded, damaging homes that had never flooded before.

“Residents need protection now - not in 2027. ‘Pumps Not Promises’ is what this community is asking for, and I will continue fighting to make that happen,” said the MP.

Residents at the meeting raised concerns about delays to planned flood defences and urged NRW to provide immediate short-term solutions alongside long-term protection.

Following the meeting, NRW committed to visiting individual properties by Christmas to assess what temporary measures could be put in place and to begin installing short-term defences as soon as possible.

Ms Fookes added, “I’ll continue working with residents, NRW and Welsh Government until Skenfrith gets the proper flood defences it needs and deserves.”