We learned in December 2015 that Cumbrian floods are not a once in a generation thing. We are going to have to live with them, so what can we do to minimise the misery they bring?

Well, we can make our key infrastructure as robust as possible. It is simply not acceptable that areas get flooded again and again, that power is lost because electricity substations are vulnerable to flooding, the A591 is shut for months and the west coast mainline is disrupted for a month owing to floods, landslides, signal failures and wires coming down.

And where are these new quangos set up to promote our interests, Transport for the North, the National Infrastructure Commission, Rail North and the strange Northern Powerhouse that nobody quite understands? Very conspicuous by their silence.

I have a suggestion. It is proposed to squander £20 million on electrifying the Windermere branch line. But the new Northern rail franchise clearly states new diesel trains will run through from Barrow to Manchester airport.

If they can do it from Barrow they can do it from Windermere, thus showing the argument that the only way to get through trains to the airport from the Lakes is by electric trains to be nonsense.

This would save the £20 million but don’t just save it, give it to Cumbria to strengthen our resilience.

As an example, the village of Staveley is currently cut in half and there is no indication when it will get back to normal. Are folks there bothered if their trains are electric or diesel or would they much prefer to make the village more flood resistant? I know which one I’d choose.

Roger Davies

Kendal