There were no formal flood defences protecting the home of an 83-year-old woman who drowned in severe flooding during Storm Babet, an inquest has heard.
Maureen Gilbert was found “floating in the water” on the morning of October 21 2023 in Tapton Terrace in Chesterfield, Derbyshire, after the River Rother burst its banks.
She was one of at least seven people who died as a result of Storm Babet, while thousands of homes were left without power across the UK.
Mrs Gilbert’s son, Paul Gilbert, attended Chesterfield Coroner’s Court on Monday for the first day of the inquest and was told by assistant coroner Matthew Kewley that her cause of death was drowning.
Neil Longden, who was the Environment Agency’s operations manager for Yorkshire, gave evidence to the inquest and was asked why there were no flood defences near Tapton Terrace, which is next to the River Rother.
Mr Longden said: “The answer really is you can build something, but someone has to pay for it.
“There is a feasible solution to the problem but funding, and potentially the planning process, may put that at risk.
“There are thousands of people at flood risk around the country. You would have that challenge in many locations around the country.”
He said that Tapton Terrace is susceptible to flooding because the land is low, several water sources come together, and the fact there are no flood defences.
Neighbours previously described how five feet of water engulfed the inside of their properties in Tapton Terrace “within minutes” of the river bursting its banks.
Mr Longden said Storm Babet was “one of the most significant storms” he has been involved in because of the intensity of the rainfall, adding: “It was a different type of storm than I have experienced before.”
The inquest heard that in 2018, a storage reservoir began to be used to reduce the peak flow further down the River Rother during heavy rainfall.
Mr Longden agreed the reservoir was the “only significant step” taken between 2007, when Chesterfield residents previously experienced severe flooding, and Storm Babet in 2023.
Mrs Gilbert’s son told Sky News at the time of his mother’s death that he had attempted to secure her house with flood defences.
He said in October 2023: “Everybody on the street did as much as they could on the pretext that the water would come.”
Mr Gilbert said at the time of her death that he found his mother “floating in the water” when he forced a window open.
According to the Met Office, Storm Babet caused the wettest three-day period on record in the Midlands, with around 400 homes in Chesterfield evacuated.
The inquest, which is expected to last five days, will continue on Tuesday morning.
