£50m funding gap for 'critical' Southampton flood defence project

A ‘critical’ flood defence project aiming to protect hundreds of homes and businesses currently has a £50million funding gap.

The River Itchen Flood Alleviation Scheme (RIFAS) in Southampton covers a 3.7-kilometre stretch on the west side of the estuary.

The project is needed to reduce the immediate present-day risk of flooding to more than 153 homes, including the Northam Estate, 288 businesses, and key road and rail links.

It is expected that climate change and sea level rise will see the area at risk increase to impact more than 1,150 homes and 900 businesses by 2120.

This year alone has seen localised flooding in April and November.

Labour-run Southampton City Council is working in partnership with the Environment Agency on RIFAS.

Members of the local authority’s overview and scrutiny management committee heard when an initial outline business case was prepared in 2022 the expected cost was around £30million.

This now stood at just below £100million, primarily due to design modifications, rising material costs and the inclusion of maintenance funding.

At the meeting on Thursday, December 12, councillors were told the project is eligible for around £35million in flood defence grants and the council had committed a further £10million.

Cabinet member for environment and transport Cllr Eamonn Keogh said various funding sources had been explored, including developer contributions, regeneration and discussions with the UK Wealth Fund, which was launched in July by chancellor Rachel Reeves.

Cllr Keogh said: “RIFAS is critical for Southampton’s flood resilience but the funding gap poses significant challenges to its completion.

“The next steps include securing that additional investment and refining the project design so that we can get something in place in a timely manner.”

Conservative group leader Cllr Peter Baillie said the council needed to “bite the bullet” and find a solution to fund the scheme, which runs from Mount Pleasant Industrial Estate down to Southampton Water Activities Centre to the south of Itchen Bridge.

Cllr Baillie said: “It is not a question of if we do this, we are going to have to do it, so let’s crack on and do it well, and do it early rather than be late to the party and suddenly realise we have to do it when half of our city is under water.”

The meeting heard the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) was carrying out a review of its funding mechanisms next year, which could reduce the shortfall.

Currently, flood defence grant in aid limitations mean only homes built before 2012 in need of protection can be used in the funding calculation.

Therefore, the potential for large-scale future developments cannot be taken into account to receive a bigger grant.

Stephen Haynes, executive director for growth and prosperity, said there was potential for between 2,500 and 4,000 residential units in the area of the city RIFAS would support.

He said council officers were working every day to identify funding solutions but added there were a “number of moving parts” that were not dependent on the local authority.