THE GOVERNMENT has announced it will be investing £2.65billion in flood defences, including £2million for Beales Corner in Bewdley, writes Caitlin Valle.
Tens of thousands of homes and businesses will be better protected from flooding as by the record package which, as well as building new flood defences, will also maintain and repair the ones already in place.
The two-year investment will protect 52,000 properties across the country by March 2026.
The already in place conditions, left in substandard conditions due to under-investment, will get increased funding for maintenance which will ensure a further 14,500 properties have expected level of protection restored – for a total of 66,500 properties benefiting from this funding.
‘Boosting poorest flood assets on record’
The Labour Government said it had inherited the poorest flood assets on record, as 14 years of heavy storms and lack of investment from the Conservatives left 3,000 of the Environment Agency’s 38,000 high-consequence assets to below the required condition.
This announcement comes as the Government’s Flood Resilience Taskforce met today (Wednesday 5 February), with the Floods Minister Emma Hardy joined by ministers from across government, alongside representatives from the Met Office, Local Resilience Forum and the National Farmers Union. They have all been looking at ways to protect the 6.3million properties in the UK at risk from flooding.
Steve Reed MP, the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, said: “The Conservatives’ food defense negligence over the past 14 years was a dereliction of duty that left communities in the region exposed and cost the economy billions.
“They failed to spend over two thirds of the money pledged for flood defenses, leaving our flood defence infrastructure in the poorest condition on record.
“That’s why this Labour Government is now investing a record £2.65 billion to build and maintain flood defences across the country to protect lives, homes and businesses from the dangers of flooding – including the vital X project in REGION.”
