Over £170million invested in South East flood defence schemes
The Thames Valley Flood Scheme is one of those benefiting
Flood defence schemes across the South East have received a boost in funding.
Homes and businesses in the South East will be better protected from flooding and coastal erosion under plans published today by the Government and Environment Agency, with £176.5m invested in more than 200 schemes in 2020/21.
The investment is part of plans outlining £5.2 billion of investment over the next 6 years. More than £860m will be spent in 2020-21, boosting design and construction of more than 1,000 new schemes across England as part of the Environment Agency’s annual capital programme.
It is all part of the government’s Flood and Coastal Erosion Investment Plan which outlines how new flood and coastal schemes will better protect 336,000 properties by 2027, helping to avoid £32 billion in wider economic damages and reducing national flood risk by 11 per cent.
The Thames Valley Flood Scheme is one that will be benefiting from a share of this funding.
This scheme is in its early stages and is looking at approaches to reducing flood risk across the Thames Valley.
This includes the whole of the River Thames upstream of London from its source in Gloucestershire, and the rivers that flow into it.
It complements existing and planned local flood alleviation schemes.
The scheme aims to provide an increased level of climate resilience across the Thames catchment area.
Currently in the consultation phase, the vision is to develop a scheme that will:
- reduce flood risk throughout the Thames Valley
- enhance the environment
- help grow the economy
- support sustainable growth
- improve health and wellbeing for rural and urban communities
The scheme is currently holding a public consultation where they're asking locals to give them feedback on proposed changes. This is running until August 20th.