The Environment Agency has warned that the annual cost of damage to residential and commercial property from flooding in England, as well as the cost of further disruption, damage to infrastructure and loss of business, could rise from £2.5bn to £4bn by 2035 unless funding for defences is increased.
Reports from the Environment Agency have highlighted that one in six homes in England is at risk of flooding and that investment in the building and maintaining of flood defences will need to almost double to £1bn a year by 2035.
New figures released by the Environment Agency show that:
- One in six homes in England is currently at risk of flooding from rivers, the sea, or surface water from overflowing drains;
- More than 5m people currently live and work in 2.4m properties at risk from rivers or the sea - 490,000 of which have a significant chance of flooding. The organisation is warning that this figure would rise to 840,000 by 2035 if future investment is maintained at existing levels;
- An additional 2.8m properties are currently at risk of flooding from surface water. The Environment Agency estimates that an additional £150m a year by 2035 will be required to help mitigate this risk; and
- Some 55 per cent of water treatment works and pumping stations, 14 per cent of electricity infrastructure, 2,358 schools and 2,363 doctors' surgeries in England are situated in flood risk areas, along with some 4,000km of roads and 2,500km of railway.
Environment Agency chairman, Lord Chris Smith, said: "The Environment Agency has completed 90 flood defence schemes since summer 2007, providing increased protection to more than 58,000 properties. Whilst continued investment in managing these risks is crucial, we cannot always prevent flooding so communities need to take responsibility for being prepared - for example by signing up to the Environment Agency's free flood warning service."
According to the agency, the top ten local areas with the highest number of properties with a significant chance of flooding from rivers or the sea are:
- Boston District 23,700
- North Somerset 20,415
- East Lindsey District 14,949
- Windsor and Maidenhead 11,477
- City of Kingston upon Hull 9,825
- Shepway District 9,065
- Sedgemoor District 8,092
- East Riding of Yorkshire 7,513
- Runnymede District 7,007
- Warrington 6,533
In a separate but related development, environment secretary, Hilary Benn, has announced the first round of new grants to help people protect their homes against flooding. Some £3m has been made available to 25 local authorities to protect nearly 600 properties across England by offering practical solutions, including air brick covers and door guards.
