Flood defence cash is all at sea: Homeowners in vulnerable areas face postcode lottery of spending on protection
Homeowners and businesses in flood-risk areas are facing a postcode lottery of spending on defences.
On average, the Environment Agency has spent £2,753 since 2015 for each property with at least a 1 per cent annual risk of flooding. But that more than doubles to £5,942 per property in the North East.
The region gets more than three times the £1,937 allotted in the South West, a report by the National Audit Office found.
Homeowners and businesses in flood-risk areas are facing a postcode lottery of spending on defences. Pictured: Fields were flooded in Newport Pagnail, Buckinghamshire in October this year
The river bank in York was flooded after the river Ouse burst its banks following heavy rain on November 3
More than 700 flood defence schemes have been funded in England since 2015 to protect 242,000 homes.
A spokesman for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said: 'Climate change means we must redouble our efforts. Over the next six years we are investing a record £5.2 billion to build 2,000 new flood and coastal defences.'
While funding is mostly prioritised for projects which protect the most homes, the report adds: 'We are also concerned that funding may be determined by the availability of contributions from external parties rather than the relative merits of individual schemes.'
Put simply, some areas may be losing out because of a lack of funding from local councils or businesses in the area being reluctant to help fund flood walls and defences.
Of the money provided from local sources, only seven per cent came from the private sector for the period from 2015 to 2021, compared to 25 per cent in 2014.
But the report warns the focus on the number of homes may not be a good measure for overall flood risk, as it does not include businesses, farmland or properties whose risk of flooding may have risen due to deteriorating defences.
Some areas may be losing out because of a lack of funding from local councils or businesses in the area being reluctant to help fund flood walls and defences. Pictured: A windsurder carries his board through a flooded street in Bosham, West Sussex on November 15
Otley was flooded after the River Wharfe burst its banks on November 2
While people in deprived areas are at higher risk of flooding, the proportion of better protected homes in these areas has fallen from 29 per cent in 2014 to eight per cent last year.
Flooding last winter has been a 'significant setback', according to the NAO, and the target to maintain 98 per cent of the most important flood protection schemes has been missed, with officials achieving only 96.1 per cent.
The number of properties at risk of flooding because of the condition of flood defences rose from 70,000 in 2018/19 to 189,000 in 2019/2020, against a target of 49,000.
Gareth Davies, head of the NAO, said: 'Although EA is on track to better protect 300,000 homes from flooding by 2021, there is still no comprehensive measure to show that flood risk in England has reduced, even though the current programme is coming to an end.
'Looking ahead to 2021-27, although the Government has set a clear ambition, the lack of robust measures to track progress mean it will be difficult to demonstrate that its £5.6 billion investment provides an adequate response to the changing risk and good value for taxpayers.'