£62m flood funding for English communities

Environment Secretary Theresa Villiers has announced a new round of flood defence investment for communities across Yorkshire, Cumbria, the North East and the South East of England.

In total, 13 projects, many located in communities which suffered from flooding during winter 2015, will benefit from a share of over £62 million, which as well as helping develop existing flood defences, will boost economic regeneration and increase prosperity in those areas.

This means that more than 9,004 homes will be better protected against flooding. Funding will support the development of 11 projects in the Northern Powerhouse, including seven in Yorkshire, four in Cumbria and Lancashire and two in the North East.

Villiers said: “I am delighted to announce over £60 million of additional funding to better protect communities which are vulnerable to flooding, particularly across parts of northern England. 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.”

Emma Howard Boyd, chair of the Environment Agency, said: “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.”