£7,405,508 for Flood Protection

 The Somerton and Frome constituency is set to benefit from £7,405,508 of overall investment by 2026 – 27 to help protect against flooding as part of new Government plans.

Homes in Somerton and Frome will benefit from £3,712,508 of investment in 2021-22, as part of the £860 million worth of investment, helping to rapidly give greater protections to homes which are vulnerable to flooding.

The funding comes as part of the Conservative Government's £860 million investment to protect communities from flooding in 2021-22, and part of a wider record investment of £5.2 billion into protection from flooding and coastal erosion over the next six years.

A consultation will also be launched in the autumn looking at how to better protect frequently flooded communities.

Homes and businesses in Somerton and Frome are to be better protected from flooding and coastal erosion by 2026-27, as part of new plans published by the Conservative Government alongside a £5.2 billion investment.

The following shows expected eligible DEFRA flood grant investment in 2021- 22 for projects in the Somerton & Frome constituency:

Flights Hole Weir Fish Pass Improvements £20,000 

Long Load Pumping Station Pump Replacement £985,719 

Huish Pumping Station Pump Replacement £874,085 

Midleney Pumping Station Pump Replacement £794,498 

Westover Pumping Station Pump Replacements £671,128 

Northmoor Pumping Station Pump Replacement £232,078 

West Moor Reservoir: Measures in interests of safety under Reservoirs Act  £135,000 

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 on boosting the design and construction of more than 1,000 flooding alleviation schemes.

The funding will help to protect a total of 336,000 properties in England by 2026-2027 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.

It 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.  

Improvements 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.

David Warburton MP for Somerton & Frome said:

"Flooding devastates communities, as we have seen to our great cost across the Somerset Levels in very recent times. So many homes and families in Somerset have fallen victim to this, and it is crucial that we continue to add to the armoury of protection, in order properly to tackle it and manage our environment, our businesses and homes.

"Boosting the design and construction of flood alleviation schemes, while also putting the necessary measures in place to protect homes from flooding and coastal erosion will help to guard homes and families from the devastating impact of flooding, and will allow people to feel reassured about the safety of their home and their livelihoods."

Commenting, 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."

The Government is investing over £860 million into flood alleviation schemes in 2021-22 alone and introducing a range of measures to better protect homes from flooding and coastal erosion in the coming years. We are investing in boosting the design and construction of more than 1,000 flooding alleviation schemes across England, as well as publishing our Flood and Coastal Erosion Investment Plan, launching a consultation looking at how to better protect frequently flooded communities, and bringing in tighter guidance for planning authorities to better protect and prepare communities for flooding.

The Government is doubling investment in flood defences and coastal erosion schemes during the next six-year investment period. We announced at Budget that £5.2 billion will be invested in flood defences between 2021-27. This is double the previous flood and coastal defence programme and will protect 336,000 homes, as well as many farms and businesses (HMT, Budget 2020, 12 March 2020, link).