Government announces £50m flood package for Somerset farms

Somerset’s farms, homes and businesses are to receive £50 million in new flood resilience funding after the county suffered one of its wettest starts to the year.

The government has announced the funding for Somerset Council to help the county better withstand the growing threat of flooding.

The investment follows a severe start to 2026, when Somerset recorded its second wettest January on record, with more than double the average rainfall.

Flooding continued into February, forcing Somerset Council to declare a major incident, although existing defences, deployed pumps and Environment Agency teams helped protect 2,860 properties.

Somerset is one of England’s major agricultural counties, and repeated flooding poses a serious threat to farm businesses, rural livelihoods and the wider food supply chain.

For farmers, repeated flooding can leave land unworkable for weeks, damage grass and arable crops, delay drilling and silage work, increase livestock housing pressures and push up costs for repairs, feed and drainage.

The funding is intended to help farms better cope with extreme weather, protecting rural livelihoods and reducing the risk of disruption that can feed through into higher food costs.

The £50m package could be used for improved water management, stronger defences, nature-based schemes and better watercourse maintenance.

Officials say the work should reduce pressure on emergency responders and help communities cope with future extreme weather.

Floods Minister Emma Hardy said Somerset had faced the full force of severe weather this year.

“Somerset has faced the full force of extreme weather this year, which I saw when I visited earlier this year,” she said.

“The communities here deserve more than a temporary fix which is why this government is investing.”

She said the funding would help protect homes, farms and livelihoods in Somerset for years to come.

Councillor Bill Revans, leader of Somerset Council, welcomed the announcement and said the government had listened to calls for urgent action.

“We are pleased the Government has listened to our calls for urgent action and welcome this vital investment into the future of Somerset,” he said.

He said the winter had shown how vulnerable the county’s landscape and communities were to climate-related pressures.

“This winter has shown how Somerset’s unique environment is particularly susceptible to the impacts of climate change and it is clear we must help our communities to adapt and become more resilient,” he said.

Somerset Council said it would work with the Environment Agency, Somerset Rivers Authority, Internal Drainage Boards, Natural England and local communities to decide how the money is spent.

Councillor Revans said the aim was to ensure the funds were “invested wisely to provide lasting benefits for years to come”.

The detail of which schemes will be prioritised, and how much will directly support farmland and rural drainage, has yet to be set out.

New and improved defences have already come online in Somerset over the past two years.

The government said these had helped better protect 4,916 properties, while also defending valuable farmland from regular flooding.

The Somerset funding forms part of the government’s wider £10.5 billion flood resilience programme, which is due to run until 2036 and support new and restored schemes across England.

The Environment Agency has also launched a new National Flood Forecasting and Warning Service, bringing forecasting, modelling and warning functions into a single national operation.

Environment Agency chief executive Philip Duffy said: “The Environment Agency is working year-round to keep homes and businesses safe from flooding.”

He said more frequent extreme weather meant the agency had to improve both scheme delivery and public warnings.

“As extreme weather becomes more frequent, we need to adjust how we deliver flood schemes and improve how we warn people of impending flood risks,” he said.

The funding is intended to help Somerset move from emergency response to long-term resilience as extreme weather places growing pressure on farms, homes and rural communities.