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 £10m 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.

From a press release on the Defra website

See the full list of schemes going ahead in 2011/12

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.

New proposals to give local communities a greater say in what is done to protect them from the risks of flooding and coastal erosion have been announced today.

Defra and the Environment Agency have published a consultation on a new national flood and coastal erosion risk management strategy for England which aims to allow greater local involvement in planning and prioritising flood defences.

Outlining the new approach at the Environment Agency Annual Conference and Association of British Insurers Flooding Conference, Environment Secretary Caroline Spelman said:

“Last week in Cornwall I saw for myself the devastating impact of flooding on families and businesses alike.

“With more extreme weather patterns predicted in the future, this new strategy will give communities and businesses more power to influence how they are protected, because local involvement means plans and funding can be specifically prioritised and tailored.”

Lord Chris Smith, Environment Agency Chairman, said:

“It is essential that communities, businesses, local authorities, the Environment Agency and Government work together to reduce the risk of flooding and coastal erosion to people, property and the environment.

“We urge interested groups to take part in this consultation, to help shape future approaches to how we can work together to develop local solutions to help tackle flooding and coastal erosion.”

At the same time proposals to change the system for allocating money for flood defences are also being published, so that more schemes can get the go ahead.

The proposed new funding criteria would mean that more flood defence schemes benefit from some level of Government funding. Those who will directly benefit from the schemes, such as local businesses and community groups, will have the opportunity for further voluntary investment.

Caroline Spelman added:

“The old rules mean that a scheme that doesn’t qualify for total Government investment gets pushed to the back of the queue and sometimes never gets built.

“This new approach means that more schemes will be able to go ahead. By encouraging additional investment from a wider range of local organisations and businesses, local ambitions for flood protection will no longer be held back by national budgets.”

The new approach responds to Sir Michael Pitt’s findings in his review of the 2007 floods that central government cannot pay for all flood defence schemes. Government would therefore pay for a share of the benefits and outcomes that each project could achieve, as opposed to the full costs of fewer schemes under the current guidelines.

Payments would be made based on the individual benefits of the schemes, such as for each household protected or value of economic benefits. This would mean that schemes in rural areas would be judged on a level playing field with schemes in more densely populated areas.

Any private contributions to the cost of flood defences will be entirely voluntary and communities at most risk of flooding will still be prioritised for Government funding.

Notes

• Please see the The National Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk Management Strategy.
• Please see The Future funding for flood and coastal erosion risk management consultation.
• The National Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk Management Strategy meets the requirements of the Flood and Water Management Act and the Pitt Review.
• The Payment for Outcomes consultation meets a recommendation by Sir Michael Pitt that Government should “develop a scheme which allows and encourages local communities to invest in flood risk management measures”.

The draft strategy recommends that the vast majority of properties should be protected to their current standard or better, while recognising that securing funding for building and maintaining defences is a serious and pressing issue for the area.

Save Our Selsey are concerned about the funding for the policy of ‘hold the line’ in the Selsey area, and are not convinced that ‘managed realignment’ is the best policy in the Medmerry area.

The consultation period is open for 12 weeks – it’s crucial that anyone with an interest in the future of the coastline in this area makes their feelings known.

For more information please visit:

• Environment Agency website
• Save Our Selsey website