£830 million for flood defences

The government has announced £830 million in funding for flood schemes for 2026/27, as part of at least £10.5 billion between 2024-2036.

The Environment Agency has announced that more than 600 projects will be funded to help protect tens of thousands of homes and businesses this year. The projects include improved flood barriers and embankments, natural flood management schemes that slow the flow of water before it reaches communities and coastal flood defence projects that reduce the risk of flooding.

The projects are part of the largest flood defence programme in English history without at least £10.5 billion to be invested between 2024 and 2036.

£260 million will be also allocated to repairing and maintaining Environment Agency flood defences, including those damaged by Storms Goretti and Chandra.

It is estimated that every £1 invested in flood damage prevents around £8 in economic damage.

A £100 million coastal defence scheme on the south coast between Pevensey Bay and Eastbourne, with more than £8 million invested this year, will protect more than 2,100 homes for the next century.

In Lancashire, the Preston and South Ribble Flood Risk Management Scheme will receive £15.2 million to safeguard around 5,000 homes.

£5 million will strengthen coastal defences between Holywell and Cooden Beach, protecting thousands of properties from flooding, rising sea levels and stronger storms ahead of the next phase of investment from 2027.

Floods Minister Emma Hardy said: "Flooding can turn lives upside down in a matter of hours, destroying homes, shutting down businesses and leaving communities facing months of heartbreak and recovery.

"This £1.4 billion investment will help protect tens of thousands of homes and businesses across the country and strengthen the defences families rely on when the worst happens.

"We’ve already stepped in to stabilise our flood assets after years of decline and this funding goes further, creating thousands of jobs, protecting communities from billions of pounds of damage, and unlocking new homes and businesses in places made safer from flooding."

Caroline Douglass, Environment Agency Executive Director for Flood and Coastal Risk Management, said: "This investment allows the Environment Agency and our partners to continue our work needed to protect communities from flooding.

"In partnership with local authorities, homes and businesses will benefit from stronger defences with more than 600 schemes being delivered across England.

"From major flood barriers and strengthened embankments to natural flood management and coastal defence projects, we’re combining engineering and nature-based solutions to reduce flood risk and build long-term resilience for communities across the country."