THE Environment Agency has been asked to explain why a village, which was badly hit by flooding two years ago, may never be considered worth protecting.

Selby MP John Grogan is pressing the agency for details of the cost-benefit analysis which means Elvington, near York, does not qualify for flood defences.

He is also asking it to look at the idea of using temporary pumps when flooding threatens the village, in the hope that this might be significantly cheaper than a permanent pumping station, and might therefore qualify for funding.

While only a limited number of homes were inundated when the Derwent burst its banks in November 2000, almost all residents were affected by the flooding of access roads to the village.

Mr Grogan, speaking after a meeting in Elvington with agency officers and parish council representatives, said he understood that disruption to motorists was not a major factor when assessing the cost-benefits of a flood protection scheme.

He said a notional scheme to protect the village had been drawn up at an estimated cost of £750,000, but there was no prospect at present of it even going into the agency's long-term plans.

Mr Grogan said the Government was looking at changing the application procedure to take more account of the social and human cost of flooding.

In the meantime, he said he wants to know details of the current analysis to discover why the village lost out.