Mark Hendrick – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Hendrick on 2016-09-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department has taken to identify properties in Preston that are vulnerable to flooding; and what (a) funding has been allocated and (b) work is being done to protect such properties.

Dr Thérèse Coffey

The Environment Agency has undertaken detailed flood modelling for the Preston area and properties at flood risk are shown on the Environment Agency’s flood map (available on GOV.UK), additional modelling to refine this after the December 2015 flooding is ongoing and expected to be completed in early 2017.

The full cost of a flood defence scheme for the Preston and South Ribble area is £32 million. The Government has allocated £17 million in the current flood risk capital programme to this scheme. The Environment Agency is currently working with partners to explore opportunities to secure an additional £15 million, to address the remaining shortfall. The scheme is scheduled to commence in 2019 and will provide new and improved defences which will reduce flood risk to 3000 residential and 600 commercial properties.

The new Preston and South Ribble flood risk scheme is the main focus of the work that is being done to protect property. However, a number of smaller projects were also completed after the December 2015 flood events including repairs to flood walls at Walton-le-Dale, removal of a fallen tree and repairs to defences at Broadgate and repairs to defences at the Capitol Centre.