Government announces £2.3bn on flood defence spending
2nd December 2014
Today the Government set out the flooding and coastal erosion investment plans for the next six years.
There will be a £2.3 billion capital investment in defences with more than 1,400 flood defence projects set to receive funding providing better protection for over 300,000 properties by 2021.
Major schemes include:
- Thames Estuary £196m
- Humber Estuary £80m
- Boston Barrier, Lincolnshire £73
- Rossall Coastal Defences £47m Improvement
- Oxford Western Conveyance £42m
- Tonbridge and Yalding, Kent £17m
- Somerset £15.5m
The investment is estimated to deliver over £30bn in benefits through damage avoided to homes, industry, infrastructure and farmland - including around 420,000 acres of agricultural land, 205 miles of railway, 340 miles of roads and 4 airports. As well as the national economic benefits, it is estimated that tackling the risk of flooding also brings an additional £4-9 per £1 invested in terms of benefits to the local economy.
Communities across the country are being given greater certainty about the funding available for projects in their area. This includes major construction projects with transformative potential for towns, cities and districts, and which will help communities affected by last winter’s flooding such as Boston in Lincolnshire, Hull, and Yalding in Kent. In the Lower Thames, Oxford, Somerset, Lowestoft, and the Humber major new strategic plans to alleviate risk will be progressed. It is also estimated that additional contributions through Partnership funding will be in the region of £600m.
Transforming the investment Programme
The Environment Agency will put in place an ambitious set of improvements to deliver new ways of working, transform relationships between communities, risk management authorities and their suppliers, and maximise the benefits which can be delivered.
They are reviewing flood and coastal erosion risk management outcome and performance measures and in doing so look to learn from techniques developed in the private and regulated sectors, to maximise the benefits of our investments at all levels. New measures being developed will clarify the objectives and outcomes we expect the Environment Agency to achieve.
Efficiency savings of 10% can br reinvested to allow more projects to go ahead. Reducing costs and improving efficiency will also drive down flood and coastal erosion risk in the longer-term beyond 2021.
To accelerate delivery, £60 million of funding is being brought forward within the programme to earlier years. Better management of risk and contingency has also freed up significant funding within the programme. The Environment Agency will now consult Regional Flood and Coastal Committees and local partners about which schemes will benefit from this accelerated investment, and will publish an updated investment programme in February.
Click below for the full report
An investment plan December 2014
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