Over 300,000 homes better protected from climate change in England
It follows the completion of projects including the Ipswich Barrier
Over 300,000 homes are better protected from climate change in England according to the Environment Agency.
It follows the completion of over 700 projects since 2015, thanks to £2.6 billion of investments in flood and coastal defence schemes.
The milestone was reached with the finishing of a project in Hull, but was also accomplished thanks to projects like the Ipswich Barrier which was completed in 2019.
Costing £67 million, the local barrier has been described as one of the most "significant" defences to be constructed by the Environment Agency in recent years.
Graham Varrier, Operations Manager at the Environment Agency, said: "It protects over 2,000 homes and businesses, but it also protects a lot of the infrastructure that we rely on in our daily lives, roads, rail, substations, you name it."
As well as protecting Ipswich from flooding, its benefits are expected to be felt across much of Suffolk by avoiding disruption caused by flooding in the town.
Graham continued: "It's all those things we rely on for our economy and jobs. If you look at the national figures, the £2.6 billion invested give a return of damages avoided of £28 billion which is huge. In that, for us especially in the East, the defences as a whole protects 600,000 acres of farmland across the country."
A further £5.2 billion is being put toward 2,000 new flood and coastal defences between 2021 and 2027, and Graham is expecting "a lot of investment" across the region as part of it.