The UK Government has committed to invest more than £2.6 billion to build, maintain and repair flood defences across the country following a rise in extreme weather.
Up to 1,000 projects are set to receive a share of the funding over two years, with £140 million prioritised for 31 schemes currently ready for delivery.
£36 million has been allocated for repairs to defences damaged in last winter’s flooding events.
A further £72 million will be used to repair and maintain assets including those damaged in recent floods and storms Éowyn, Darragh, Bert and Conall.
“This Government inherited flood assets in their poorest condition on record, as years of underinvestment and damaging storms left 3,000 of the Environment Agency’s 38,000 high-consequence assets at below the required condition,” a government statement reads.
“With the frequency of extreme weather events only continuing to rise, leading to devastating impacts for people, homes, businesses and communities and costing the UK economy billions each year, decisive action to invest in adapting to climate change has never been more important.”
Estimated losses for the UK after Storm Éowyn were between £116 million and £451 million, while losses in Ireland ranged from €198 million to €451 million, Insurance Business reported.
Projects receiving funding include:
- Bridgwater Tidal Barrier Flood Defence Scheme in Somerset – £43 million
- Derby Flood Risk Management Scheme – £35 million
- Beales Corner project (West Midlands) – £2 million
- Poole Bridge-to-Hunger Hill Flood Defences in Dorset – £3.5 million
- Flood resilience schemes across Leicestershire, Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire – £2.5 million
- Phase 3 of Stallingborough Sea Defences (Humber estuary) – £7 million+
- Pevensey Bay local sea defences – £3.8 million
The full list of schemes will be announced by the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs in the coming months.
“The existing funding formula for allocating money to defences slows down the delivery of new schemes through a complex application process and neglects more innovative approaches to flood management – which is why a consultation to update the formula will be launched shortly,” a government statement reads.
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