Earlier flood protection for thousands of homes in the South West
Budget announcement: More than 4,000 homes and businesses in the South West to be better protected from the risk of flooding sooner
The government is bringing forward more than £11 million of the six-year flood defence programme announced in December to better protect more than 4,000 homes from flooding sooner than planned in the South West.
3 brand new schemes have been given the green light as part of the long-term investment programme and work will start on another 37 flood defence projects earlier than previously announced.
Environment Secretary Elizabeth Truss said:
What today’s announcement means is greater peace of mind for thousands of people who are at risk from flooding across the South West.
Work will begin on 37 flood defence projects sooner than originally planned. This is another example of infrastructure funded by the UK Government as part of our long-term economic plan.
Key projects across South West include:
- Starcross and Cockwood Tidal scheme will provide better protection from flooding to around 660 homes and has been brought forward by three years.
- The scheme at Creekmoor, Poole has been brought forward by four years and will reduce flood risk for almost 300 households by 2021.
- Improvements to the coastal scheme at West Bay, near Bridport, Dorset will begin development five years earlier and reduce flood risk for around 250 homes.
The government is bringing forward more than £140 million of the £2.3 billion six-year flood defence programme announced in December to better protect more than 31,000 homes and businesses from flooding sooner than planned.
47 brand new schemes have been given the green light as part of the long-term investment programme and work will start on another 165 flood defence projects earlier than previously announced.
The 6 year programme represents a real terms increase in expenditure and will reduce flood risk across the country by 5%.
230,000 homes have been better protected from the risk of flooding and coastal erosion so far this Parliament.
Environment Agency Chairman Sir Philip Dilley said:
This programme of more than 1,500 flood risk management schemes will significantly reduce flood risk to more than 300,000 properties in England by 2021, benefiting people, the economy and the environment. Government funding has also been brought forward meaning that over 30,000 properties will benefit from reduced flood risk earlier than originally planned.
Our priority is to do as much as we can with every pound of funding from government and local partners, but of course the risk of flooding can never be entirely eliminated. With one in six homes in England at risk of flooding, I encourage people to check their flood risk and sign up to the Environment Agency’s free flood warning service.
Notes to Editors
Please visit here for further information on the schemes.
Picture caption:
Flood repair work at Minsterworth, Gloucestershire to protect homes from flooding of the River Severn. The work was part of a £4.5 million programme of work across the Midlands, completed in October 2014.