An extra £3.7 million to protect Borth from flooding
23 Apr 2014 03:38 PM
Alun Davies, the Minister for Natural Resources,
has announced over £3.7 million to help protect homes and businesses in
Ceredigion that are at risk of flooding and coastal
erosion
This latest funding will enable the completion of the
ongoing coastal defence works that will help protect 420 homes and businesses
in the village and brings the total amount spent on improving flood defences in
Borth to £17.7 million. This includes £12.2 million of Welsh
Government funding and almost £5.5 million from the European Regional
Development Fund.
In
January this year, Wales experienced some of the worst storms in over 20 years.
Although the storms severely tested Wales’s coastal defences, a review by
Natural Resources Wales found that the Welsh Government’s continued
investment in flood defences protected over 99% of coastal properties from
flooding.
The
report also found that the first phase of Borth’s flood scheme held-up
well and successfully protected the area against the worst of the winter
storms.
Announcing the funding, Alun Davies
said:
“Today’s announcement demonstrates the Welsh
Government’s commitment to investing in flood defences to protect the
people of Wales and their homes and businesses.
“This funding will allow the completion of vital
coastal defence improvements in Borth. Such funding is vital to the people who
live and work in the village as we know that, without intervention, it could
have been lost within 20 years as a result of coastal flooding and
erosion.
“The dreadful storms we experienced this winter
showed the real risks faced by coastal communities and the importance of the
Welsh Government’s ongoing investment in defence improvements. It
is widely acknowledged that without the investment in the improvement works to
date, the storms could have had a devastating impact on
Borth.”
Tackling flooding and coastal erosion is one of the
Minister’s top priorities and the Welsh Government is investing over
£245 million in flood defence work over the lifetime of this
Assembly.
Councillor Alun Williams, the Cabinet Member for
Environmental Services at Ceredigion Council said:
“We are delighted that the Welsh
Government’s funding has enabled the construction of Phase 2 of the Borth
Coastal Defence Scheme to proceed during 2014.
“The storms of earlier this year demonstrated how
vulnerable many of our coastal communities are to flooding and we welcome the
Welsh Government’s continued investment in our programme of coastal
defence improvement.
“It is widely acknowledged that the Phase 1 works
completed in June 2012 were invaluable in protecting the village against the
worst of the early 2014 storms and, on completion of Phase 2, the entire
coastal frontage to Borth village will be given the same level of
protection.”
Links
Flooding
and coastal erosion