Flood funding will help local communities
Devon is to benefit from a share of £5 million of funding unveiled by the Government this week.
A partnership of Devon County Council, Plymouth City Council, Torbay Council and the Environment Agency will receive just over £488,000 from the Flood Resilience Community Pathfinder scheme, launched by Defra in December 2012.
The funding, announced by Environment Minister Richard Benyon, will go towards a near £730,000 package to improve local community resilience so that individuals and businesses are better prepared against the risk of flooding. A total of 24 communities will benefit from the project across Devon, Torbay and Plymouth.
In Devon, schemes will aim to cover some of the communities badly hit during the 2012 floods such as Ottery St Mary, Uplyme, Newton St Cyres, Dawlish, Dawlish Warren, Kennford, Buckfastleigh, Avonwick, Aveton Gifford, Kingsbridge, Modbury, Tavistock, Milton Combe, Braunton and Ilfracombe. In Torbay it will focus on Torquay Town Centre, Brixham, Churston, Galmpton, Paignton and Preston. And in Plymouth the target areas are Colebrook, Hyde Park Road and Longbrook Street.
Schemes will look to provide additional resilience and awareness to these areas where very short warnings, if any, are given to the threat of flooding.
The funding will be used to improve community resilience by providing local people with the knowledge and training to help themselves through local action plans. Flow monitoring of watercourses and the installation of rain-gauges will provide critical information and early warnings for the communities to trigger the use of their action plans. In some cases, apparatus may be provided, such as flood gates or barriers, so that these can be put in place when necessary. Improved sandbag provision will also be considered in each area.
Martin Hutchings, Devon County Council’s Flood Risk Manager, said: “This funding is good news and we will now start discussions with our local communities to see how they can help us develop these project proposals. We have already been working very closely with a number of communities across the county, together with our partner authorities and agencies, at the recent flood drop-in sessions. This has enabled us to start work on many of our own “quick-win” schemes, providing measures to tackle flooding problems in a number of areas. The combination of these schemes and this additional funding should help make our communities more resilient against flooding in future.”
Torbay Council’s Executive Lead with responsibility for flooding, Councillor Robert Excell, said: “Flooding is a serious issue for certain areas of Torbay so we are really pleased to receive this funding. It will be used to compliment a range of flood defence measures we have already put in place to help reduce the risk and impact of flooding in the Bay.”
Councillor Mark Coker, Plymouth City Council’s Cabinet Member for Transport, said: “We are pleased to be sharing expertise and resources with Devon County Council and other partners to reduce the impact of flooding on local communities. This funding will be used to help community action groups prepare and plan for adverse weather, by providing rain gauges and devices to measure water flows and levels. It will also be used to provide sand bags, baffle boards and other interim measures to help protect individual properties.”
An additional £240,000 match funding is being provided with £130,000 from Devon County Council, £60,000 from the Environment Agency SW, £30,000 from Plymouth City Council and £20,000 from Torbay to make up the near £730,000 total needed to deliver the project.
Devon is one of 13 authorities across the country to receive the grant from the Flood Resilience Community Pathfinder scheme.
