New Roch Valley project awarded funding to protect against flooding

Plans to proactively install property flood resilience in the Roch Valley is one of 25 new flooding and coastal resilience projects across England awarded funding this week.

The projects, led by local authorities and delivered over the next six years, will receive a share of £150 million from Defra as part of the government’s new Flood and Coastal Resilience Innovation Programme and will be managed by the Environment Agency.

They are part of the government’s long-term plan on flood and coastal erosion and a renewed effort to develop and test new approaches to tackle these threats.

The schemes will trial a wide range of different approaches to resilience, tailored to local communities. The local project plans to target deprived and hard-to-reach communities in the Roch Valley, with high turnover and rented accommodation. The project is looking to proactively install property flood resilience, such as flood gates, across homes and local small businesses.

Ben Scott Area Flood and Coastal Risk Manager for Greater Manchester, Merseyside and Cheshire said: “This funding is fantastic news for Rochdale and we are grateful to our partners who ensured the success of this bid.

“With this boost, projects will be able to demonstrate how practical innovative actions can work to improve long term resilience to flooding.

“We are excited to work alongside our partners in Rochdale Brough Council to help take these projects forward and allow our local communities to improve their flood resilience.”

 

 

Emma Howard Boyd, Chair of the Environment Agency, said: “The innovation programme is extremely exciting as it begins to put new aspects of the national flood and coastal erosion risk strategy to the test. What we learn will inform our approach to the climate crisis in the coming decades and it’s something to tell our international partners about at COP26.

“I’m particularly interested in the projects that test the ability of nature-based projects to generate revenue. If successful, these could be scaled up by private finance around the world, helping to prepare for climate shocks, restore nature and create jobs.”

The funding is in addition to the government’s £5.2 billion investment in new flood and coastal defences to better protect 336,000 properties across England by 2027.

The 25 areas have been selected following an expressions of interest process managed by Defra and the Environment Agency and assessed by an independent expert panel.