Ministers have announced 13 flood defence projects across England will receive a share of £62 million of government funding.
The environment secretary Theresa Villiers has announced a new round of flood defence investment yesterday (10 September) for schemes in Yorkshire, Cumbria, the North East and the South East of England.
According to the government, more than 9,004 homes will be better protected against flooding through this round of funding.
The extra funding is in addition the government’s commitment to invest £2.6 billion over six years up to 2021 to better protect 300,000 homes across the country.
Around £19 million is set to go to Calder Valley, where the Mytholmroyd, Hebden Bridge and Brighouse schemes will be developed.
Communities in Yorkshire will also receive additional funding with more money for the Tadcaster Flood Alleviation Scheme and additional funding for defences at Sowerby Bridge. 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.
The proposed scheme for Kendal involves three phases, of which the first will provide a 1 in 50 level of protection for 1,480 homes and 1,151 businesses.
This round of funding will also allocate £6.3 million to projects outside of the Northern Powerhouse, in Essex and Lincolnshire. In Essex, the River Roding project at Shonks Mill will better protect 550 homes in Woodford and its surrounding areas, while in Lincolnshire, the Lincoln Defences project is set to reduce flood risk to 1,842 homes and 424 businesses.
“I am delighted to announce over £60m of additional funding to better protect communities which are vulnerable to flooding, particularly across parts of northern England,” said Villiers.
“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.”
The chair of the Environment Agency and UK Commissioner on the Global Commission on Adaptation, Emma Howard Boyd commented: “This extra funding will help us to go even further in our mission to better protect communities up and down the country from the terrible effects of flooding.
“We will work closely with these communities to design and build projects which not only reduce flood risk but which also benefit wildlife and the local economy for decades to come.
“This vital investment comes on the same day that the Global Commission on Adaptation has released a report which issues a rallying cry to the international community to invest more in climate resilience including better protection for flood risk.”
(original post from https://wwtonline.co.uk )