The UK government has committed £2.65 billion (€3.2 billion) to flood defences over two years as part of its ‘Plan for Change’.
Steve Reed, Secretary of State for the Department of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), said up to 1,000 projects would receive a share of the money, from tidal barrier schemes to local sea defences and farmland protection.
Major priorities include the Bridgwater Tidal Barrier scheme in Somerset, below, (£43 million); Derby Flood Risk Management (£35 million); 31 other projects to protect local communities (£140 million); urgent repair on defences damaged last winter (£36 million); fixing specific flood foundations (£36 million); and specific maintenance and repair (£72 million).
“As part of the Plan for Change, the Government is committing a record two-year investment of £2.65 billion with 52,000 properties set to benefit from new defences by March 2026,” DEFRA says. “To shore up creaking defences in need of repairs, funding will be re-prioritised for investment in much-needed maintenance, benefiting a further 14,500 properties. This means a total of 66,500 properties will benefit from this funding.
“As well as protecting families from the devastation of flooding, the investment supports economic growth by protecting businesses, supporting jobs, and supporting a stable economy in the face of the increasing risk of flooding as a result of climate change.
“It will also protect farmland which has been badly hit by recent storms, in turn helping to safeguard farm businesses and farmers’ profits.”
Separately, a one-off £75 million (€91 million) fund has been set up for internal drainage boards (IDBs) to help them manage water levels for agriculture and environmental needs, ‘ensuring their crucial role in flood and water management is supported for years to come’.
In the Midlands city of Leicester, rivers will be targeted in 13 areas that will look at working with nature, with drainage, tree planting, new wetlands and flood water storage schemes.
Bridgwater Tidal Barrier
One of the most notable projects under the drive is the £250 million tidal barrier in Bridgwater, Somerset, which is led by the Environment Agency and Somerset Council with input from the Somerset Rivers Authority.
The barrier is one of three main elements of the project: there will also be 4.3 kilometres of new flood defence banks and 2.8 kilometres of raised banks, plus fish and eel passage improvements at 12 sites upstream of the barrier.
The barrier, which has had its business case approved following topgraphical surveys on foot and by drone, discussions with local landowners and early ecological surveys, is hoped to reduce flood risks to more than 11,000 households and 1,500 businesses, according to the Somerset Rivers Authority.
Somerset suffered its worst flooding in 250 years in the winter of 2013-14, when a combination of heavy rainfall, high tides and a lack of river dredging – not for two decades – resulted in more than 600 houses and 17,000 acres of farmland being flooded.
Eighty-one roads were closed because of the flooding, the total land area flooded covered around 150km2 and the flooding itself lasted for around three months.
The Bridgwater Tidal Barrier is planned to be built in 2027.
