The Scottish Government has announced plans to invest £420 million in flood defences for 10,000 homes in many of Scotland’s most flood-prone communities over the next decade.
The £42 million a year plan for the ten year strategy is the result of grant funding totalling £420 million and follows an agreement reached between the Scottish Government and the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA).
The funding will be used to deliver 40 new flood protection projects and support local flood risk management plans.
More than 130 flood protection studies will be carried out to help find potential solutions for another 26,000 residential properties currently at risk.
The announcement came as the First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, fulfilled her pledge to return to Newton Stewart following an earlier visit in the aftermath of flooding at Hogmanay.
She said the agreement would give local authorities the certainty they need to deliver the actions set out in their Local Flood Risk Management Plans to help protect individuals, business and communities from the danger of flooding.”
Councillor Stephen Hagan, COSLA Spokesperson for Development, Economy and Sustainability said:
“Protecting communities is at the heart of what local government does and is the reason why local government has committed this substantial resource for flood protection. Climate change, and the associated increase in flooding events, poses a significant national risk. This is why investment in flood protection schemes and associated infrastructure is critical to protecting vulnerable householders, businesses and communities, and why the strong working relationship between local and Scottish Government is so important.”
Since 2008, the Scottish Government has provided funding of £42 million a year through the local government settlement for local authorities to invest in major new flood protection schemes.
As announced in the Scottish Budget in December 2015, there has been an increase in the 2016-17 Capital Grant allocations to local authorities, which will be reflected in the amount of funding made available to councils for flood prevention work.
From 2016/17 onwards, Scottish Ministers and COSLA have agreed that the future funding of flood protection work should reflect the priorities set out in the 14 Flood Risk Management Strategies published in December 2015, and the more detailed 14 Local Flood Risk Management Plans published in June 2016.
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