£400,000 grant announced for National Park repairs after winter storms and flooding
22 Apr 2014 03:03 PM
Defra announces funding for National Park repairs after winter storms and
flooding.
Five National Parks have today each received a share of £394,075 in
funding from Defra for urgent repairs following the winter storms and
flooding.
The recent storms caused damage to footpaths,bridleways, locks and bridges
across five Parks in England. After National Parks applied for grants to carry
out repairs, Defra has today announced the allocations for each Park which
total nearly £400,000.
Environment Minister Lord de Mauley said:
Our National Parks are the jewels in the crown of our precious natural
environment – this investment will ensure they remain so. Given each
pound spent by National Parks on recreation provides £4 of wider benefit,
it is essential to get our Parks back to the highest standards ahead of the
busy tourism period.
In the Broads, the Mutford lock which facilitates over 1,000 boat passages a
year will be restored after coastal flooding in December damaged electrical and
hydraulic systems leaving staff to operate the lock manually. In Dartmoor
numerous footpaths and bridleways will be repaired and drainage infrastructure
will be restored.
This latest funding adds to the existing measures government have taken to
rebuild Britain after the winter floods. Other initiatives include:
- grants of up to £5,000 for homeowners and businesses flooded
between 1 December and 31 March to make their properties more resilient to
future floods
- all affected businesses will get 100% business rate relief for
three months and will also get an extra three months to pay the business taxes
they owe to HMRC as they get back on their feet
- a £10 million fund for farmers suffering water-logged fields
to help restore it to farmable land as quickly as possible. This is now open
for applications from farmers
- grants for fishermen to replace storm damaged gear such as lobster
creels and crab pots
Allocations to authorities
- Broads - £82,000
- Dartmoor - £150,000
- Exmoor - £99,197
- North York Moors - £32,230
- Yorkshire Dales - £30,648