GovWire

Innovative approaches to flood and coastal resilience taken by the Environment Agency, local authorities and local partners are helping to unlock significant wider social, economic and environmental benefits for people, places, and wildlife.

The Environment Agency has today (Monday 28 October) published its mid-programme report for its 200 million Flood and Coastal Innovation Programmes. The report details what has been achieved so far and the lessons learnt.

At this midway point, the achievements of these programmes include:

• 97 new natural flood management schemes delivered, using natural processes to slow the flow of floodwaters through techniques such as leaky dams, wetland ponds and enhanced marine habitats;

• Almost 600 new monitoring sensors around the country to measure river levels and provide accurate and timely warnings ahead of flooding;

• 25 PhD positions funded to train the next generation of flood experts and develop new approaches to the challenges of climate change and extreme weather.

It is clear the impacts of climate change are already being seen here in the UK and around the world. Rising sea levels and more extreme weather are likely to lead to more frequent and severe flooding and storm surges. This is why the Environment Agency is acting now by encouraging innovation in flood and coastal resilience.

Julie Foley, Director of Flood Risk Strategy & National Adaptation at the Environment Agency, said:

We need to combat climate change through innovation. That is the very reason why we established the 200 million Flood and Coastal Innovation Programmes. The 35 projects are already delivering social, economic and environmental benefits for people and wildlife which is hugely encouraging.

The learning and best practice gathered will help us to meet our vision for a nation better ready for, and more resilient to, flooding and coastal change.

Hannah Bartram, Chief Executive of the Association of Directors of Environment, Economy, Planning & Transport (ADEPT), said:

ADEPT is delighted to be working with the Environment Agency on the flood and coastal innovative programmes, including raising awareness and understanding of the adaptation pathways approach.

As part of this work, we recently held three Rapid Adaptation Pathways Assessment workshops across the country, helping those local authorities assess their future flood risks and build adaptive strategies. This highlighted the importance of collaborative and innovative forward-thinking to safeguard communities and ensure the resilience of key assets.

The commitment shown by the local authorities involved demonstrates that when given the space and freedom to innovate, local authorities truly thrive in addressing complex environmental challenges.

Andrew Cook, Executive Director for Growth, Highways and Infrastructure at Suffolk County Council, said:

The challenges we all face to effectively manage flood risk and coastal erosion are significant, and only going to increase with impacts of climate change.

This is why the Environment Agencys Flood & Coastal Innovation Programmes are so important, for giving practitioners in local authorities across England the opportunity to test new approaches, challenge preconceptions and collaborate to collect the evidence that can inform the new policy and practice.

I am very encouraged by the progress being made at this mid-way point and excited to see the results for projects like Suffolks Reclaim the Rain as they work towards completion.

Some examples of individual initiatives supported through these programmes include:

• The Action for Silk Stream project team in Watling Park in the London Borough of Barnet has partnered with the police to align its sensitive landscape design with public realm improvements. The aim is not only to reduce flood risk, but to create safer and more accessible public spaces by tackling anti-social behaviour and crimes, especially those against women.

• Elsewhere, the Resilient Roch project in Rochdale is combining property flood resilience and energy efficiency measures to retrofit social housing targeted at disadvantaged communities in Littleborough and Wardleworth. The local authority has aligned funding from a package of energy efficiency measures of around 3 million with Ovo Energy to provide practical flood resilience and energy efficiency advice, helping to boost resilience and save money for householders.

And, the projects have also found ways of maximising the benefits of nature-based solutions to deliver wider benefits to the environment and support the local economy by using nature to safeguard tourism and enable new industries.

• In South Tyneside, the Stronger Shores team are embracing nature-based solutions by establishing seagrass meadows, kelp forests, and oyster reefs. In certain conditions, kelp forests can lower wave energy by up to 50%, reducing the erosive power of wave action at the shore. They also have carbon sequestration benefits. The team is partnering with academia to understand how such measures can reduce coastal erosion and deliver local economic benefits from an improved marine environment.

The 200m fund was launched in 2020 to meet the aims of the Environment Agencys Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk Management (FCERM)

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