A new plan to better protect and prepare millions of homes and businesses from the risk of flooding that the climate emergency will bring has been launched by the Environment Agency.

With more extreme weather expected, including summer temperatures up to 7.4˚C hotter and 59% more rainfall by 2050, the new Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk Management Strategy sets out how we will build up the resilience of millions more homes and businesses as part of the EA’s green recovery plan into the next decade.

More than 5.2 million properties in England are already at risk, and climate change will lead to even more people being affected. The measures are set to include:

·         Expanded flood warnings by 2022 to all at risk properties, with 62,000 more families to be added to the service

·         Increased investment in natural flood management schemes to better protect communities, tackle climate change and create new wildlife habitats

·         Further promote the use of property flood resilience measures to help homeowners and businesses build back better and recover quicker after flooding

·         More collaborative partnerships with national road, rail and utilities providers to ensure their investments are flood resilient and benefit the public

Environment Agency Chair, Emma Howard Boyd said: “This year we had major flooding and the sunniest spring on record in rapid succession. We know climate change is going to bounce us between these extremes more and more in the coming years, but communities wouldn’t want us to hermetically seal them off from the weather even if we could. This strategy will help answer local concerns, prepare the nation for future shocks and enable greater international leadership at COP26 by showing we can walk the walk at home.”

“The clean, green recovery of the economy from coronavirus must have nature at its heart. This is a blueprint for using the natural world to build back better so that homes, businesses and infrastructure are more resilient.”

The Strategy comes on the same day the government announced details of the £5.2 billion that will be spent between 2021 and 2027 on flood protection, alongside a further £200 million for resilience measures in 25 areas, as well as reforms to the FloodRe insurance programme.

In addition, the Environment Agency is ready to deliver on several flood schemes, in areas including Cheshire and Lancashire, after the Government today announced a further £170m to accelerate flood defence construction in 2020 or 2021.

The £3.3 million Penketh and Whittle Brooks Flood Risk Management Scheme, which will protect up to 211 properties upon completion, has received a much awaited funding boost of £480,000 to help the project move into its next stage.

This is an important part of the ambitious green and resilient recovery from the coronavirus pandemic and will allow the Environment Agency and key partners to accelerate work on vital shovel-ready flood and coastal defence projects which will drive economic growth and unlock a range of benefits for local economies, including the protection of jobs and businesses.

Since widespread flooding across the region in December 2015 and again in February 2020, which saw large numbers of communities affected, the Environment Agency has been exploring ways to better protect areas across Cheshire. This has included extensive appraisal work to identify the best ways of investing government funding allocated to Penketh and Whittle Brooks.

The Environment Agency’s latest successful bid into the fund means the scheme can continue its development at an enhanced pace, pending the finalisation of preferred scheme plans, as discussed with local community members and preparatory works including site investigations, planning, permitting and consents.

Peter Costello Area Flood and Coastal Risk Manager at the Environment Agency, said: “This funding is fantastic news for Penketh and Whittle Brooks and ensures that our plans for flood defences within the area, as discussed with the local community, can progress to the next stage. A huge amount of work has been done alongside Warrington Borough Council, other partners and local residents to develop robust flood protection to more than 200 properties. Residents of Penketh and Whittle Brooks understandably want to see flood defences in place to give them peace of mind during flooding incidents. Securing this funding is an important step to ensure local flood resilience is significantly improved.” 

The new Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk Management Strategy also sets out a series of natural flood management schemes that will not only reduce the risks to local communities, but also tackle climate change through carbon sequestration and new habitats for wildlife.

These include:

·         reconnecting rivers with their natural floodplain and restoring bends, recognising the role of soils in reducing rapid run-off, or creating new areas where water can be stored

·         planting more trees and restoring peatland, helping to slow the run-off of water into rivers, while also creating important natural habitats and taking carbon out of the atmosphere.

·         in urban areas, using green infrastructure such as restored habitats and sustainable drainage systems to reduce flood risk and provide local people with more green spaces

·         in coastal areas, creating wetlands and saltmarshes, and using beach nourishment to manage erosion and provide habitats for wildlife.

Further key points in the Strategy include:       

·         5:1 benefit-cost ratio - For every £1 spent on protecting communities, we avoid around £5 of property damages. The Strategy sets out in more detail the strong economic, social and environmental benefits from investing in our resilience to future flooding and coastal change.  

·         Resilience  - From 2021 risk management authorities will work with the finance sector, Flood Re and industry to increase the uptake of property flood resilience measures in communities at highest risk and to ‘build back better’ after flooding.       

·         Education – By 2025, risk management authorities and other organisations will work with education providers to encourage opportunities for ongoing learning and career development in engineering and environmental sciences so that we have a diverse range of skills and experience able to respond to flooding. 

Environment Secretary George Eustice said:  

“We know that climate change is making the UK warmer and wetter, and we will be visited by extreme weather more frequently in the future. 

“This ambitious strategy sets out how we can become more resilient to flooding and coastal erosion by continuing to build and maintain our flood defences while also increasing investment in nature-based solutions. 

“It ensures ideas like reconnecting rivers with their natural floodplain or creating new areas where water can be stored and used in times of drought will become mainstream flood protection policies in the years to come.” 

Chair, Adaptation Committee of the Committee on Climate Change (CCC), Baroness Brown, said:

“We strongly welcome this Strategy. Our own analysis shows that ambitious adaptation action is needed alongside global net-zero emissions to avoid a very significant increase in damage, from river, coastal and surface water flooding across England.

“Investing in flood defences is critical, but will not address the challenges of climate change on its own. If implemented in full, the Strategy is a big step forward in managing flood risk in our changing climate. We look forward to evaluating progress in due course.”

Chief Executive of the National Flood Forum, Paul Cobbing, said:

“Many flood risk communities across England have actively contributed to developing this strategy; recognising that if we are serious about our growing flood risk challenges we must be ambitious, forward looking, and act with speed and urgency, reflecting peoples’ needs and the devastation that flooding causes.

“Local flood groups will play an active role in working with the Environment Agency and other risk management authorities to put this Strategy into action.”

President of ADEPT, Nigel Riglar, said:

“We need to prepare for the worst on climate change, by building resilience into our existing and future places, increasing resilience in our infrastructure, and building resilient communities - this strategy is a welcome step towards this.

“Local authorities have a fundamental role to play in achieving these ambitions. They need to both lead and influence, enable a low carbon area through programmes, policies and decisions, and inspire businesses and communities to take climate action themselves.

“ADEPT members have worked closely with the Environment Agency over many years to help reduce the number of homes and businesses at risk of flooding. We look forward to continuing to work in partnership to make critical investments in our communities and infrastructure at the right points in time.”

·         You can read the Environment Agency’s National Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk Management Strategy for England on GOV.UK https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-flood-and-coastal-erosion-risk-management-strategy-for-england--2

·         The Environment Agency consulted on the strategy in 2019: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/environment-agency-chair-calls-for-new-approach-to-flood-and-coastal-resilience  

·         The new long-term plan to tackle flooding can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/multi-billion-pound-investment-as-government-unveils-new-long-term-plan-to-tackle-flooding