• Crawley is set to benefit from more than £480,000 of investment to help protect against flooding.
• The funding comes as part of the Government’s £860 million investment to protect communities from flooding in 2021-22, and part of a wider record investment of £5.2 billion into protection from flooding and coastal erosion over the next six years.
• A consultation will also be launched in the autumn looking at how to better protect frequently flooded communities.

Over 1,400 more homes and businesses in Crawley are to be better protected from flooding by 2026-27, as part of new plans published by the Government alongside a £5.2 billion investment.

The Flood and Coastal Erosion Investment Plan outlines how this record £5.2 billion of investment over the next six years will be spent, including more than £860 million in 2021-22 on boosting the design and construction of more than 1,000 flooding alleviation schemes.

The funding will help to protect a total of 336,000 properties in England by 2026-2027, including 1,466 in Crawley, helping to avoid £32 billion in wider economic damages and reducing the national flood risk by up to 11 per cent across the country.

Henry said;

“Flooding can devastate communities and we must put the necessary protections in place to tackle it.

“The £486,151 to protect 1,466 homes in Crawley will help to deliver on this by boosting the design and construction of flood alleviation schemes and putting the necessary measures in place to protect homes from flooding.

“This will help to guard homes and families from the devastating impact of flooding, allowing people to feel reassured about the safety of their home.”

The funding will be accompanied by a consultation in the autumn, where the Government will look at how to better protect frequently flooded communities, following a call for evidence earlier this year.

It will consider how to strengthen the assessment of local circumstances, such as where areas have flooded on multiple occasions, when allocating funding during the six year plan.

The Government is also bringing in tighter guidance for planning authorities as part of a package of actions to better protect and prepare communities for flooding.

Improvements to flood insurance such as measures to allow flooded households to claim extra money to install property flood resilience measures – like air brick covers, flood doors and flood resistant paint – and measures to tackle the risks from surface water flooding are also included in the plans.

The Secretary of State for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs, George Eustice, commented;

“The tragic recent events in Germany and Belgium serve as a sobering reminder of how devastating flooding can be.

“We are standing by communities and will bolster defences against flooding across England with many thousands more properties better protected by 2027.

“It’s important we take action right across the system. Our comprehensive plan will achieve this by tightening planning procedures, helping more people access insurance and making homes more resilient to flooding.”