The government has unveiled a record package to build new flood defences and maintain and repair those already in place.
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. To shore up creaking defences in need of repairs, funding will be reprioritised for investment in much-needed maintenance, benefitting a further 14,500 properties. This means a total of 66,500 properties will benefit from this funding.
The Government has said it inherited flood assets in their poorest condition on record, as years of underinvestment and damaging storms left 3,000 of the Environment Agency’s 38,000 high-consequence assets at below the required condition.
The announcement comes as the Government’s Floods Resilience Taskforce met this week, with Floods Minister Emma Hardy joined by ministers from across government alongside representatives from the Met Office, Local Resilience Forums, and the National Farmers’ Union. They will look at further steps that can be taken to protect the 6.3 million properties in England at risk from flooding, and discuss lessons to learn from Storms Bert, Conall and Éowyn this winter.
Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Steve Reed said:
“The storms this winter have devastated lives and livelihoods.
“The role of any Government is to protect its citizens.
“Under our Plan for Change, we are investing a record £2.65 billion to build and maintenance flood defences to protect lives, homes and businesses from the dangers of flooding.”
