Defra funds £150m for innovative approaches to flood response

Apps alerting residents to flooding, permeable road surfaces to improve drainage and schemes to protect vital sand dune beaches are among the new flooding and coastal resilience projects across England awarded funding.

"This innovation programme puts new aspects of the national flood and coastal erosion risk strategy to the test," said Emma Howard Boyd, Chair of the Environment Agency.

The pioneering projects, led by local authorities and delivered over the next six years, will receive a share of £150 million from the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs as part of the government’s new Flood and Coastal Resilience Innovation Programme and will be managed by the Environment Agency.

They are part of the government’s long-term plan on flood and coastal erosion and a renewed effort to develop and test new approaches to tackle these threats.

The schemes will trial a wide range of different approaches to resilience tailored to local communities. These include plans to restore sub-tidal habitats like kelp beds, oyster reefs and sea grass near South Tyneside, as well as the installation of specialised property flood resilience measures and an app for local residents to tackle the threat of groundwater in Buckinghamshire.

"These 25 projects will not only help to inform future approaches to prepare communities for flooding and coastal change across the country, but also help reinforce the UK’s position as a world leader in innovation and new technology," noted Rebecca Pow, Environment Minister.

 

The funding is in addition to the government’s record £5.2 billion investment in new flood and coastal defences to better protect 336,000 properties across England by 2027.

 

The 25 areas have been selected following an expressions of interest process managed by Defra and the Environment Agency and assessed by an independent expert panel.