Press release

£47 million to be spent on new flood defences in Central Anglia

Homes in Central Anglia will be better protected from floods thanks to a six-year £2.3 billion national flood defence programme

This was published under the 2010 to 2015 Conservative and Liberal Democrat coalition government

Homes in Central Anglia, which covers Cambridgeshire, Bedfordshire and surrounding areas, will be better protected from floods thanks to an unprecedented six-year £2.3 billion national flood defence programme in England announced by the government today.

£47 million is set to be invested in Central Anglia alone where new flood defence schemes will help protect over 4,500 properties from flooding. A wide variety of flood defence schemes will be delivered, including work to improve flood storage and to prevent tidal erosion. Examples of new schemes include:

  • 17 schemes that will be led by Internal Drainage Boards (IDB) and will deliver improved flood protection to 2,800 properties for £18 million of government investment. This includes Islington Flood Risk Management Scheme delivered by Kings Lynn IDB that will protect 820 residential and commercial properties.

  • The first project supporting the Wash East Coastal Management Strategy will be developed in partnership with the Borough Council of Kings Lynn and West Norfolk and the local community. This project will look to provide continued protection to 570 properties and 4,500 static caravans.

Danny Alexander, the Chief Secretary to the Treasury said:

Protecting communities from the devastating effects of flooding is crucially important, so I have earmarked £47m to protect homes and businesses across central Anglia.

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 this region will benefit from 35 flood defence schemes that will allow local authorities to plan ahead, manage flood risk better and reassure communities. It includes work to improve flood storage and to prevent tidal erosion, bringing 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.

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 in England by the end of the decade.

This first ever long-term investment programme will protect over 4,500 properties in Central Anglia 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.

The investment programme was published alongside a new long term study from the [Environment Agency] (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/programme-of-flood-and-coastal-erosion-risk-management-schemes) 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

  • Central Anglia includes Cambridgeshire, Bedfordshire and parts of Hertfordshire, Buckinghamshire and Norfolk.
Published 2 December 2014