UK commits £62 million to flood defence

The UK government has pledged more than £62 million to 13 projects aimed at helping develop existing flood defences across Yorkshire, Cumbria, the Northeast and Southeast of England.

Just over 9,000 homes will benefit from the investment in flood defences, many of them in communities hit hardest by the severe flooding that swept the country in the winter of 2015.

Almost £20 million will be spent in Calder Valley on schemes in Mytholmroyd, Hebden Bridge and Brighouse.

Communities in Yorkshire, including those in Tadcaster and Sowerby Bridge, will also receive additional funding.

Cumbria and Lancashire are due to receive the second largest amount of funding, with £22.8 million now available to support four flood projects in Kendal, Egremont, Flimby and Preston and South Ribble.

This round of funding will also allocate £6.3 million to projects outside of the Northern Powerhouse, in Essex and Lincolnshire.

Environment secretary Theresa Villiers said: “I am delighted to announce over £60 million of additional funding to better protect communities which are vulnerable to flooding, particularly across parts of northern England.”

“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.”

Andy Bord, chief executive of Flood Re, commented: “Flood defences are essential to giving those who live in high-risk areas peace of mind that they are protected from the worst effects of flooding. Our recently commissioned research also found that defences are a sensible financial decision, saving the UK £1.1 billion a year.”

“We therefore welcome the government’s announcement of an additional £62m to improve flood defences across the country.”

“Alongside this, the government should continue to encourage take-up of resilience measures for homes in high-flood risk areas to reduce the upheaval for affected families when flooding does occur.”

Mark Dugdale