More than 3,000 of England’s most important flood defences are currently in disrepair as experts warn the public is being put “at risk” if the Chancellor refuses to boost the flood budget.
A report by the Environment Agency (EA) has revealed the body is failing to meet its targets to maintain flood defences with 3,097 (7.9 per cent) of “high consequence assets” currently below their target condition.
The EA warned the situation is getting worse due to “funding challenges” and the impact of climate change on Britain’s flooding infrastructure.
Former senior figures within the EA told The i Paper that funding for the maintenance of flood defences is an “ongoing problem” and called on Rachel Reeves to address the issue at the upcoming Spending Review.
John Curtin, former CEO of the EA, said the agency is responsible for maintaining around 7,000km of flood defences, the vast majority of which are earth banks.
He said many of the embankments are old; in East Anglia some date back to the 1600s, while some defences in the North West are filled with the rubble of buildings bombed during World War Two.
Curtin said these structures are “really suffering from the climate stress that we’re seeing”, adding that they’re “getting baked in the summer” and then “eroding and deteriorating” in winter thanks to storms and rainfall.
In 2023 and 2024 Britain experienced the highest number of named storms on record, resulting in thousands of homes and businesses being flooded.
Nearly 200 properties in the town of Horncastle, Lincolnshire were flooded during Storm Babet after flood defences failed. However, an investigation by the EA found that the flood may have breached the defences even if they were working properly.
Curtin said the poor state of some of the EA’s defences did not necessarily mean they’d fail during a flood, but did mean they’re “not up to standard and will deteriorate more quickly”.
“If we don’t maintain them…you’re having to rebuild these in an emergency or replace them earlier,” he said.
Labour blamed the previous Tory government for the state of Britain’s flood defences, stating that it “has inherited flood defences in their worst condition on record”.
But experts fear the situation could become worse as Rachel Reeves prepares to make wide-ranging public spending cuts.
A new report by research firm Public First, spearheaded by former EA chair Emma Howard Boyd, calls on the Chancellor to commit at least £1.5bn per year to the flood budget.
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The Government is currently spending £1.3bn a year on flood defences, which is less than the £1.5bn recommended by the National Infrastructure Commission, which advises ministers on the country’s infrastructure needs
At the Autumn Budget The Treasury said flood defences are a “significant funding pressure” that must be “reviewed”, stoking fears that the EA’s budget will be slashed.
Further details are expected at June’s Spending Review when the Chancellor will set out departmental budgets for the next four years.
Howard Boyd told The i Paper any cuts to the flood budget would put “at risk” the EA’s plans to “get ahead” of the growing flood threat that climate change is bringing to the UK.
“This is about lives, livelihoods, communities, the economy,” she said.
An Environment Agency spokesperson said: “We are sadly very aware of the devastating impact that flooding can have, which is why protecting communities is our top priority.
“We maintain around 90,000 flood defence assets across England, protecting 2.3 million properties, and are investing an additional £72 million over the next year to repair and maintain our assets.
“This will ensure our assets are as resilient and reliable as possible and operate as expected in flood events.”
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