£12 million for new flood defences across the Severn and Wye catchment
£12 million to be spent on new flood defences across Shropshire, Herefordshire, Worcestershire, Gloucestershire and Warwickshire.
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Homes in Much Wenlock, Broadway, Childswickham and Murcot will be better protected from floods thanks to an unprecedented six-year £2.3 billion flood defence programme, benefiting Shropshire, Herefordshire, Worcestershire, Gloucestershire and Warwickshire to the tune of over £12 million, which has been announced by the government today.
Improvements to the scheme in Leominster, just one of 66 projects in Shropshire, Herefordshire, Worcestershire, Gloucestershire and Warwickshire getting the green light today, will protect an additional 800 homes.
Some examples of the schemes funded in the first 2 year construction phase in the area include:
- £1.2 million will be invested in reducing flood risk in Much Wenlock
- The £3 million Badsey Brook Flood Alleviation Scheme will reduce the risk of flooding to approximately 290 residents living along Badsey and Bunches Brook in Broadway, Childswickham and Murcot
- A £500,000 investment in the Barbourne Brook Flood Alleviation Scheme will reduce the risk of flooding to several large industrial units and residential properties in Worcester City along the brook.
Danny Alexander, the Chief Secretary to the Treasury said:
The Severn and Wye valley has a long history of flooding, so I have earmarked £12 million of flood defence funding across the region to protect thousands of homes here.
Investing £2.3 billion to support 1,400 schemes across the country will protect 300,000 homes from the north-east to the south-west. As well as ensuring people’s safety and peace of mind it will also bring over £30 billion of economic benefit, making it great value for money as part of this government’s drive for a stronger economy and a fairer society.
Environment Secretary Elizabeth Truss, said:
Flood protection is vital and under our plans, Severn and Wye will benefit from 66 defence schemes, including making improvements to the scheme in Leominster, that will bring peace of mind to residents and businesses.
We are spending £3.2 billion in flood management and defences over the course of this parliament - half a billion pounds more than in the previous parliament. This, combined with the record level of investment in capital we have set out today, will improve protection to 465,000 homes and businesses by the end of the decade.
Environment Agency Chairman Sir Philip Dilley said:
Our priority is to do as much as we can with every pound of funding from government and local partners, we now expect to provide better flood protection to an additional 300,000 properties in England by the end of the decade.
With one in six homes in England at risk of flooding, and recognising the risk of flooding can never be eliminated, we would also encourage people to take their own steps to prepare for flooding, for example by signing up to the Environment Agency’s free flood warning service.
This first ever long-term investment programme will protect over 2,000 properties in Shropshire, Herefordshire, Worcestershire, Gloucestershire and Warwickshire alone and save the national economy £2.7 billion by 2021. The lifetime benefits of this investment will be even higher at over £30 billion. New schemes may also be added as the programme progresses.
Since the beginning of this parliament flood defence investment has improved protection to over 230,000 homes and over 580,000 acres of land. The new investment will reduce the risk of flooding for at least another 300,000 homes in England by the end of the decade.
The investment programme was published alongside a new long term study from the Environment Agency, which shows that the planned investment will reduce overall flood and coastal erosion risk in England.
To see the national picture, visit the interactive Google map here.