Tens of thousands of homes and business will be better protected from flooding as the Labour Government has unveiled a record package to build new flood defences and maintain and repair those already in place. 

A record two-year investment of £2.65 billion will better protect 52,000 properties across the country by March 2026. 

To shore up creaking defences left in substandard conditions through underinvestment in repairs, funding will also be shifted towards maintenance, ensuring a further 14,500 properties have their expected level of protection maintained or restored, for a total of 66,500 properties benefiting from this funding across the UK. 

This Labour Government inherited flood assets in their poorest condition on record, as 14 years of damaging storms and underinvestment from the Conservatives left 3,000 of the Environment Agency’s 38,000 high-consequence assets at below the required condition. 

This announcement comes as the Labour Government’s Floods Resilience Taskforce met earlier this month, with the Floods Minister Emma Hardy joined by ministers from across government alongside representatives from the Met Office, Local Resilience Forum and the National Farmers Union. They will look at further steps that can be taken to protect the 6.3 million properties in England at risk from flooding, lessons to learn from Storms Bert, Conall and Éowyn this winter. 

Establishing the Flood Resilience Taskforce was a pledge the Labour Party made when in opposition and has now delivered in government as part of the Plan for Change. 

Steve Reed MP, Labour’s Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, said: 

“The Conservatives’ flood defence negligence over the past 14 years was a dereliction of duty that left communities like those in south Manchester exposed and cost the economy billions. 

“They failed to spend over two thirds of the money pledged for flood defences, leaving our flood defence infrastructure in the poorest condition on record. 

“That’s why this Labour Government is now investing a record £2.65 billion to build and maintain flood defences across the country to protect lives, homes and businesses from the dangers of flooding.”

Jeff Smith MP added:

“The recent New Year’s Day flooding in our community here in south Manchester has highlighted the pressing need for robust flood defences. I am grateful to the emergency services and local residents who came together during this challenging time. This significant investment by the Labour Government will strengthen the nation’s flood defences. I’m talking to the Environment Agency about their long term plan for better flood prevention in south Manchester.”