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Homes in high-risk flood areas to benefit from new flood protection grants

www.environment-agency.gov.uk

16 November 2011

Homes in high-risk flood areas to benefit from new flood protection grants
16-Nov-2011
The Environment Agency today announced grants of £1.3 million for 37 communities in England at risk of flooding.

The money will be used to help 500 households in areas at the highest risk of flooding to install products to protect their property, such as flood barriers and airbrick covers.

The new funding follows £2 million allocated earlier in the year to protect 600 households in 30 communities, including Bilton and Kirby Mills in Yorkshire, Dovecot in Liverpool and Dover in Kent.

A grant made available to residents after the 2009 floods in Eamont Bridge, Cumbria, has resulted in 40 properties being protected using a variety of innovative measures such as door guards, airbrick covers and non return valves and pumps.

Successful applicants
A list of successful applicants published today (16th November 2011) includes an £85,000 scheme for Pickering to improve protection for 20 properties from flooding and 43 properties in Cornwall thanks to the grant and an additional £29,000 contribution from Cornwall Council.

The new grant also provides a boost for existing works already under way to deliver flood protection to 600 households this financial year.

Local authorities in England will distribute the grants to households at risk of flooding.

Preparing for flooding
Flooding Minister, Richard Benyon said:

“There are a number of steps that homeowners can take to protect their property from flooding such as installing air brick covers, door guards and sealing holes. The Government is today making £1.3 million available to help 500 of the most vulnerable homeowners in the country make these changes and better protect their property from the devastating effects of floods.

“We are better prepared than ever to respond to any major floods and over the next four years we’ll be spending at least £2.1 billion on flood defence and coastal erosion. We’ve also reformed the funding system to allow the number of flood defence schemes to be increased and to give local people greater choice about what flood protection is needed in their area.”

Environment Agency Chairman, Lord Chris Smith said:

“This latest round of flood grants is yet another step being taken by the Environment Agency to help communities prepare for flooding

“Flooding can have a devastating effect on people’s homes and possessions. This funding will help people to reduce and, in some cases, prevent any damage caused to their homes and possessions.”

“More people are becoming aware of their flood risk. Everyone should check the Environment Agency’s website to see if their house is in an area at risk of flooding and find out what simple steps they can take to prepare for flooding, such as signing up for the Environment Agency’s free flood warning service.”

Further information
List of successful applications for flood protection grants totalling £1.3 million (Word: 1.1MB)
Advice for homeowners and businesses on ways to reduce the risk of flooding to their properties (PDF: 0.4MB)
Blue Pages Directory of household flood protection productsCase Studies
Results from a previous Defra grant scheme. Eamont Bridge, Cumbria
43 residents and two businesses flooded in Eamont Bridge in November 2009

Since the 2009 floods, the Environment Agency has worked with residents who were flooded on a Defra pilot to provide home flood resistance measures. There was a nearly a 100% take up for the scheme.

Residents chose the products they wanted for their homes at a flood fair held in the village hall.

The Defra pilot, using Local Levy funding, aimed to provide home with flood resilience products to the 37 homes that were flooded in 2009.

Resistance measures include, door guards, airbrick covers, non return valves, pumps which were installed by the end of 2010. This work also included re-pointing stonework and sealing up any holes left by the flood water.

The properties were assessed and works recommended by an independent assessor and the work was carried out by Environment Agency contractor.

In some cases, the homeowners carried out the works themselves.

YouTube: Watch a film about our work at Eamont BridgeChew Magna
Chew Magna is a village in the River Chew valley, south of Bristol and west of Bath. The Chew Valley and surrounding catchments were devastated in July 1968 when a summer storm caused widespread destruction and flooding of at least 88 properties.

Despite the flooding, a community wide flood defence scheme could not be justified for the village.

A £5 million Defra Grant Scheme administered by the Environment Agency was announced as part of the Government’s response to Sir Michael Pitt’s review of the 2007 floods.

Bath and North East Somerset Council won £150,000 initially, plus additional grants of £110,000 and £65,000 giving a total of £325,000 for Chew Magna.

Surveying of properties was carried out during summer 2010. There were a number of criteria for selecting locations for grant, including whether the location was unlikely to benefit from a community wide scheme in the foreseeable future.

Homeowners were fitted with flood protection solutions such as door guards, sealable air bricks and drain non-return valves in February and March 2011