£146 million to be spent on new flood defences
Homes and businesses in Lincolnshire and Northamptonshire will be better protected from floods due to £2.3 billion flood defence programme.
Homes and businesses in Lincolnshire and Northamptonshire will be better protected from floods thanks to an unprecedented £2.3 billion flood defence programme that includes faster delivery of the Boston Barrier, benefiting the region to the tune of £146 million, which has been announced by the government today.
The new Boston Barrier, just one of 89 schemes in Lincolnshire and Northamptonshire getting the green light today, is worth £90 million. This scheme will protect 15,129 homes and businesses from flooding and provide an economic boost to the area through regeneration.
Examples of other schemes that will protect homes and businesses in Lincolnshire and Northamptonshire include:
- 2,300 households will benefit from improved sea defences between Immingham and Freshney.
- Households and infrastructure will receive a reduction in flood risk from a £12 million scheme at Halton and Killingholme Marshes. This forms part of the wider flood risk management measures being provided on the Humber.
Danny Alexander, the Chief Secretary to the Treasury said:
Floods can devastate our communities, which is why I have fast-tracked the delivery of the £90 million Boston barrier, as well as nearly £150 million across the region to protect thousands of homes and businesses.
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 Lincolnshire and Northamptonshire will be better protected by 89 schemes being delivered across the region, including the Boston Barrier and Humber schemes, which 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 thousands of properties in Lincolnshire and Northamptonshire alone and save the national economy £2.7 billion by 2021. The lifetime benefits of this investment will be even higher at over £30bn. 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 in England. This new investment will protect at least another 300,000 homes 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