39 new flood and
coastal defence projects have been announced today as part of
Government plans to reduce the risk of flooding and coastal
erosion in England.
Of these new projects 21 will provide additional protection to
over 13,000 households at risk of flooding. The remainder mainly
relate to vital repairs and safety enhancements to existing
defences.
Over the next year £521m will be spent managing flood risks, with
investment in the new schemes, ongoing work or completion of 108
projects already under construction, and a further 187 schemes
receiving funding for development work such as feasibility
studies, for possible construction in future years.
The allocation for 2011/12 also covers maintenance of existing
defences, developing flood forecasting technologies and
heightening public awareness of flood risk.
The government expects to spend at least £2.1bn on flooding and
coastal erosion over the next four years and improve protection
for at least 145,000 homes.
Environment Minister Richard Benyon said:
“Protecting homes from the threat of flooding and coastal erosion
is incredibly important for the government, and schemes which will
contribute the most in terms of protection to households and
economic benefit per pound spent have been prioritised.
“The Environment Agency and other risk management authorities
have worked very closely to ensure that as many people as possible
are protected from the threat of flooding using the resources available.”
Some of the key flood and coastal erosion defence projects
planned to benefit from funding in the 2011/12 financial year include:
Shaldon (Devon): completion of this £8.4m scheme to protect over
450 properties from the risk of tidal flooding.Pevensey Bay (East
Sussex): continued funding for this 25-year Public Private
Partnership scheme to provide protection for some 17,000
properties along the coast between Eastbourne and Bexhill-on-Sea.
Nottingham: ongoing construction of this £51m scheme to protect
16,000 homes and businesses along a 27km stretch of the River
Trent. Redcar (Redcar and Cleveland): ongoing construction work on
this £25.5m scheme to reduce the risk of coastal flooding to more
than 1,000 properties when completed. Felixstowe (Suffolk):
funding for Suffolk Coastal District Council to begin work on a
new £8m scheme to reduce the risk of coastal erosion and flooding
to more than 1,600 homes and businesses, including the Port of
Felixstowe.Upper Mole Flood Alleviation Scheme (West Sussex):
continuing construction work on this £15m scheme that will protect
over 1,000 properties in Crawley and Horley when completed.Keswick
(Cumbria): funding to begin work on a new £5.7m scheme to protect
180 properties from the River Derwent.
Key schemes completed during 2010/2011 include a £38m scheme to
protect 3,500 properties and businesses in Carlisle, a £10m
refurbishment of the Hull Tidal Barrier and a £1.1m sea defence
project between Seasalter and Graveney in Kent.
Government funding for schemes starting in 2012/13 and beyond
will be subject to the outcomes of the current consultation on
funding reforms.
Environment Agency Chairman Lord Chris Smith said:
“We will continue to protect as many
homes and businesses as we can. We have plans to work on 147
river and coastal flood defence schemes in the next financial
year which, when completed, will increase protection to
thousands of homes.
“We will also seek financial contributions from organisations
such as developers and businesses who directly benefit from these
defence schemes. Doing so will allow our funds to be stretched
further and mean more can be done overall.
“Flooding cannot always be prevented so we all must be better
prepared, for example by signing up to the Environment Agency’s
free flood warning service.”
Next month Defra, the Cabinet Office, the Welsh Assembly
Government and the Environment Agency will conduct the country’s
biggest peacetime exercise – Exercise Watermark – to test the
country’s arrangements to respond to severe, wide-area flooding.
Notes to editors
See the full list of schemes going ahead in 2011/12 on the
Environment Agency website:
http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/research/planning/118129.aspx
Defra consultation: Future funding of flood and coastal erosion
risk management in England
This consultation invites views on potential reforms to the way
in which central government funding is allocated to projects in
England in order to manage the risk of flooding and coastal
erosion. http://www.defra.gov.uk/corporate/consult/flood-coastal-erosion/index.htm
11/11
Contacts:
Defra Press Office
Phone: 020 7238 6600
NDS.DEFRA@coi.gsi.gov.uk
Tim Dunford
Phone: 020 7238 6001
tim.dunford@defra.gsi.gov.uk