Can natural flood management help Kendal and avoid the implementation of destructive plans for a huge dam, concrete walls, wholesale tree felling and cultural impacts to an ancient and loved town?

In Kendal, on the edge of the Lake District, plans were being drawn up that would tear the green heart out of town and wreak havoc on its cherished riverside environment.

At the public planning meeting to discuss the Kendal flood plans, I sat in the public gallery, thinking I would leave it to the experts. What I heard was shocking.