TIM Farron has made an impassioned case in favour of the Kendal flood defence scheme to fellow MPs this week.

The Westmorland and Lonsdale MP has been a consistent supporter of the project from its conception despite a concerted campaign of opposition.

And in a debate on the environment in the House of Commons, he restated his support for the scheme, which is being piloted by the Environment Agency (EA).

“Our communities are still reeling four years on from the catastrophic floods of Storm Desmond,” Mr Farron told the House.

“Indeed, in the last decade or so we have been hit by three floods, each of which was classified as a one-in-200-year event.

“Storm Desmond flooded 7,500 homes and more than 1,000 businesses. I was there the morning after Storm Desmond and the weeks after.

“I saw people’s lives ruined, families left in poverty, businesses wiped out, children even today still unable to sleep any time it rains - and I could not look the people in the eye on Appleby Road, on Mintsfeet Road, on Sandylands Road, on Shap Road or on Ann Street if I didn’t do everything in my power to deliver them some kind of protection, some kind of peace of mind.

“So, after four years of promises, four years of fear whenever it pours, four years of incalculable strain on mental health for young and old alike - how dare I seek to represent them if I do not see these flood defences delivered?”

However in the wake of Mr Farron’s comments the Save the Heart of Kendal group, who believe the project will be damaging to the town centre, reiterated their opposition to the scheme.

While conceding that they fully support efforts to reduce flood risk, the group said they remained unconvinced alternative options had been fully explored.

“Since Storm Desmond, knowledge and understanding of flood management has developed,” the group said in a statement.

“Building concrete flood walls is now regarded very much as the technology of the past.

“Studies from both Lancaster University and Durham University show that natural flood control methods are entirely appropriate for the River Kent.

“Indeed those reports suggest NFM would better protect the town than concrete flood walls.

“Rather than bequeath Kendal a sub-standard scheme, therefore, it is beholden upon us to use state of the art methods that are, importantly, carbon neutral or carbon negative, that do not necessitate the removal of mature trees, and that have already proven to work elsewhere such as York and Pickering.”