Ten coastal towns have received new funding for projects that will help create and safeguard nearly 1,400 jobs and help with essential repairs in areas affected by the winter storms.

More than £8.5 million is being distributed to towns around England for schemes that will create tourist attractions, regenerate historic sites and provide new flood defences. The money is being made available from the government’s Coastal Communities Fund and will attract a further £6.2 million from other private and public bodies.

Prime Minister David Cameron and Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne have also announced an extra £3 million for the fund to encourage growth and create jobs in coastal towns.

Launched in 2012 to invest in seaside towns and villages, to date the Coastal Communities Fund already spent £54 million.

The 10 projects include £633,000 on flood defences at Waldringfield in Suffolk. The funds will help pay for the construction of a system of flood defences for homes and businesses in the flood area on the River Deben Estuary. The project is also being used by the Environment Agency as a “pilot” scheme to demonstrate the benefits of working in partnership with private, public and voluntary organisations and they will be sharing their experiences at a local and national level. The project will create and safeguard 51 jobs.

The Coastal Communities Fund is financed by the government through the funding equivalent of 50% of the revenues from the Crown Estate’s marine activities in that area.