MP welcomes £49m fund for flood protection in Boston and Skegness
The funding comes as part of the Conservative Government’s £860 million investment to
protect communities in 2021-22, and is part of a wider record investment of £5.2 billion into protection from flooding and coastal erosion over the next six years.
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Hide AdA consultation will also be launched in the autumn looking at how to better protect
frequently flooded communities.
This means that 19,066 more homes and businesses in Boston and Skegness are to be better protected from flooding and coastal erosion by 2026-27, as part of new plans published by the Conservative Government.
The Flood and Coastal Erosion Investment Plan outlines how this record £5.2 billion of
investment over the next six years will be spent, including more than £860 million in 2021-22
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Hide Adon boosting the design and construction of more than 1,000 flooding alleviation schemes.
An investment of £32,657,923.88 over the financial year of 2021-22, as part of the £860
million worth of investment, will help to rapidly give greater protections to homes which are
vulnerable to flooding and coastal erosion.
The funding will help to protect a total of 336,000 properties in England by 2026-2027,
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Hide Adincluding 19,066 in Boston and Skegness, helping to avoid £32 billion in wider economic
damages and reducing the national flood risk by up to 11 per cent across the country.
The funding will be accompanied by a consultation in the autumn, where the Government
will look at how to better protect frequently flooded communities, following a call for evidence
earlier this year.
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Hide AdIt will consider how to strengthen the assessment of local circumstances, such as where
areas have flooded on multiple occasions, when allocating funding during the six-year plan.
The Conservative Government is also bringing in tighter guidance for planning authorities as
part of a package of actions to better protect and prepare communities for flooding.
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Hide AdImprovements to flood insurance such as measures to allow flooded households to claim
extra money to install property flood resilience measures – like air brick covers, flood doors
and flood resistant paint – and measures to tackle the risks from surface water flooding are
also included in the plans.
Commenting, MP for Boston and Skegness Matt Warman said: “Flooding can devastate communities – too many homes and families in Boston and Skegness have sadly fallen victim to this, and so we must put the necessary protections in place to tackle it.
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Hide Ad“The £48,916,928.17 to protect 19,066 homes in Boston and Skegness will help to deliver on
this by boosting the design and construction of flood alleviation schemes and putting the
necessary measures in place to protect homes from flooding and coastal erosion.
“This will help to guard homes and families from the devastating impact of flooding, allowing
people to feel reassured about the safety of their home.”
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Hide AdCommenting, Environment Secretary George Eustice said: “The tragic recent events in Germany and Belgium serve as a sobering reminder of how devastating flooding can be.
“We are standing by communities and will bolster defences against flooding across England
with many thousands more properties better protected by 2027.
“It’s important we take action right across the system. Our comprehensive plan will achieve
this by tightening planning procedures, helping more people access insurance and making
homes more resilient to flooding.”