£120 million boost to flood defences will protect homes and businesses and help drive growth

£120 million in new funding will speed up the delivery of flood defences that could protect up to 60,000 homes and deliver up to £1 billion of economic benefits, the Chief Secretary to the Treasury will announce today.

£60 million of the funding will be targeted at areas where flood defences can unlock new opportunities for development and growth, helping our country compete and thrive in the global race. Investment will be focused on areas where it will have the greatest economic impact. A further £60 million will help speed up the delivery of up to 50 flood defence schemes already in train and prioritised by the Environment Agency.

In total, we estimate that this will support schemes which could improve flood protection for up to 60,000 homes and achieve up to £1 billion of economic benefits. This additional funding comes on top of over £2 billion already set aside to tackle flood and coastal erosion risks over the course of the Spending Review. This Government is already on course to deliver better protection to around 145,000 homes by March 2015.