By Environment secretary Theresa Villiers has announced a fresh round of investment from the government, worth £62 million, aimed at protecting over 9,000 homes from flooding.
Thirteen projects related to flood defences are expected to benefit from the investment, protecting homes across Yorkshire, Cumbria, the North East and South East of England.
The new injection of funding comes in addition to the government’s commitment to invest over £2.6 billion in the six years up to 2021, protecting as many as 300,000 homes from flooding in total.
Heightened risk of flooding
The environment secretary revealed the spending boost to flood defences for homes, following a summer of unprecedented flooding across the UK, as well as a general trend towards greater damage to homes in recent years.
For example, the government claimed as many as 3,000 homes were flooded in the West Yorkshire valley, during an incident in 2015. Furthermore, in 2009, the Environment Agency reported that at least 5.2 million properties in England were at risk of flooding in total, either by flooding from rivers and sea or from surface water flooding.
Ms Villiers commented: “Events this summer have shown that investing in flood risk management is more important than ever, and this funding builds on our long-standing £2.6 billion commitment to better protect 300,000 homes from flooding and coastal erosion over six years.”
In early August, the town of Whaley Bridge was evacuated, after floodwaters damaged the town dam, threatening to flood the entire community. Floodwaters eventually receded and work began to repair the dam, to prevent any further risk of flooding in the future. However, the incident highlighted the potential damage that flooding can inflict on entire towns.
Northern Powerhouse spending
The government’s fresh flood protection investments add to £5.4 billion of spending in the North of England, which is aimed at developing the Northern Powerhouse in the region. Cumbria and Lancashire are also receiving sizable funding, worth £22.8 million, to support four flood projects in Kendal, Egremont and Flimby, as well as Preston and South Ribble.
Emma Howard Boyd, chair of the Environment Agency and UK commissioner on the Global Commission on Adaptation, claimed: “This extra funding will help us to go even further in our mission to better protect communities up and down the country from the terrible effects of flooding.”
Ms Howard Boyd commented on the announcement further, saying: “This vital investment comes on the same day as the Global Commission on Adaptation has released a report, which issues a rallying cry to the international community, to invest more in climate resilience, including better protection for flood risk.”
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