Prime Minister announces more than £40M for flood defences

David Cameron has announced a package of more than £40M to rebuild and improve flood defences in the aftermath of Storm Eva.

The announcement came after the north of England was hit by heavy rainfall over Christmas and New Year. The torrential rain caused flooding across Lancashire and West Yorkshire, where people had to evacuate from their homes.

David Cameron has promised that the government will help charities who are supporting those caught up in the floods, by matching every pound of the first £2M raised.

The announcement of matched funding for charities follows a similar pledge made to community foundations in Cumbria and Lancashire in the aftermath of Storm Desmond.

The investment in recovery from Storm Eva and Storm Desmond has almost reached £200M, with the package to be extended with grants to reimburse fire and rescue authorities, who have spent extra money protecting flooded communities.

The government will also spend £280M over the next 6 years, to protect thousands of houses in Yorkshire from flooding. This is part of a £2.3Bn investment to protect 300,000 houses across the country.

Prime Minister David Cameron said: “I have seen at first-hand the devastation caused by flooding. And that’s why this work to repair and improve flood defences is so vital.

“But now more than £40m will be spent to fix those defences overwhelmed by the record rainfall we’ve seen in recent weeks and to make them more resilient to further bad weather.”

A total of £10M of the new funding package will be reserved for the Foss Barrier protecting York, which was overwhelmed at the height of Storm Eva.

The defences on the Wharfe, Calder, Aire, Ouse and Derwent will have £30M spent on repairs to pumping and barriers and clearing blockages in the rivers.

 

 

 

 

 

The post Prime Minister announces more than £40M for flood defences appeared first on UK Construction Online.