ENVIRONMENT Agency officials have agreed to hold further talks on plans that could see large areas of the East Riding left unprotected and at risk of flooding.

The move comes after East Riding Council said it would take the agency to the High Court over proposals to withdraw maintenance of flood defences and create "water-storage areas".

The plans were scheduled to be introduced later this month, but the authority wants the consultation period to be reopened until March 25.

The agency has contacted the council and agreed to hold further talks.

However, the news was met with caution by council leader Stephen Parnaby.

He said: "They are prepared to extend the consultation period and we are arranging a meeting with the agency and ourselves.

"But we need to be clear on what is going to happen. We need to make sure they are going to listen to what people say and act on it.

"If they are just going to tell residents what they intend, that is not consultation and we will be back where we started."

Under the plans, low-lying agricultural land would be used as "water-storage areas", which would mean in times of flooding and heavy rain, parts of the countryside would be used to hold flood water from rivers and streams.

Maintenance of flood defences would be withdrawn and land that frequently floods would be submerged in a bid to protect property and other areas.

Graham Stuart, MP for Beverley and Holderness, said he supported the council's threat of legal action.

He said: "The council is doing exactly as it should by representing the interests of local people against an unelected, unaccountable national quango.

"The implications of the plans are not easy to discern, have not been properly explained, and the consultation has been inadequate.

"Nothing can be more fundamental to people than the security of their homes and land.

"The council has my full support in challenging the Environment Agency and I congratulate them for having the courage to stand up for local people."

Under the scheme, water on flooded land would not be pumped away, but left to drain naturally.

The agency is yet to identify areas that would be used to create storage areas, but land around Beverley and Market Weighton has been marked for feasibility studies.

The studies will be carried out in the middle and upper reaches of the River Hull, the Market Weighton canal and land around Barmston and Holderness drains.

Farmer Martin Voase, of Inn Carr Farm, Brandesburton, said: "I am pleased the council is taking this issue seriously.

"But we cannot sit back and think we have got breathing space, because time is short.

"The agency needs to listen to people who have a vast knowledge of the area and its waterways."

The plans are part of the agency's flood protection strategy for rivers Aire, Derwent, Don, Hull and Ouse, which all run into the East Riding.

Craig McGarvey, Yorkshire area manager for the agency, said: "We are prepared to extend the period of consultation if that helps.

"There are a lot of tough decisions to be made and we want to work with everybody involved so we can come up with the best solution for the people of the East Riding."