Flood defence spending announced

Without wanting to get involved in anything political, it was good to hear last week that the Government has announced £2.3 billion investment in 1400 new flood defence schemes. The main point all the commentators are making is that this is not new money but simply re-affirming money which had already been pledged. But, as far as we are concerned, any news is good news if it involves more protection for flood-risk areas.

Since last year’s terrible floods, we have been working across the country to help families re-build their homes – and their lives. Two areas in particular – the Thames Valley and the Somerset Levels – were completely devastated between December and February when either rivers overflowed or flash floods raced through towns and villages. It’s been a long haul since then as it takes an incredibly long time to repair the damage from flooding. But we are now finally seeing people moving back into their houses and getting their lives back to some sort of normality.

The funding announced by the Government includes schemes in both these areas, but these will take some time to be built. Let’s hope that this winter doesn’t bring a repeat of those devastating storms and that the families forced to move out of their homes will not have to do this again.