Rural communities suffering repeated flooding are set to benefit from a new ring-fenced £100 million allowance to better protect properties.
The new government announcement of the Frequently Flooded Allowance has been welcomed by farming and rural groups.
The allowance aims to improve funding access for smaller communities requiring complex flood schemes where larger schemes are not always viable.
Funding will be targeted at communities where 10 or more properties have flooded twice or more in the last 10 years.
The government anticipates around 80 schemes will receive support over the next four years.
Dr Neil Hudson, MP for Penrith and The Border and a member of the EFRA Select Committee, said he was pleased the government was prioritising rural areas.
“This is an issue that really impacts communities that are deeply dependent on the environment both economically but also as part of their identity," he said.
"I have triggered an Inquiry on Rural Mental Health by our EFRA Committee on which I sit; in this, we have investigated the impacts of shock events like floods on rural communities.”
Communities will be selected through the Environment Agency’s annual refresh of the £5.2b capital programme – which sets out the latest information on each project in the programme and the amount of grant-in-aid allocated to that project in that year.
Announcing the fund, Defra Secretary George Eustice said: “Flooding is a miserable experience, especially for people who suffer its impacts time and again, and I feel we have a moral imperative to help.
“Our new Frequently Flooded Allowance will boost schemes in areas which are hit repeatedly and reduce the risk of flooding in the future.
“This new allowance will provide extra support for these areas and forms part of our major £5.2 billion effort to build around 2,000 flood schemes by 2027 and level-up defences across the country.”
