Minister holds out hope for flood-fight rural communities

Ms Spelman will today announce an extra £235,000 for a North Yorkshire scheme to protect Pickering by planting trees and building natural dams to slow flood water and divert it away from the town.

She is on a day-long visit to the region before speaking at tonight’s Yorkshire Post Environment Awards dinner.

In an interview ahead of her visit, she confirmed future flood defence projects would be funded on a “partnership” system – where central Government will pay part of the cost if the community contributes part of the funding as well – after severe cuts in spending on flood defences in the region this year.

Ms Spelman said stretching Government resources further would mean more rural projects – often ruled out for funding in the past because they did not protect enough homes – could go ahead.

“One of the problems for areas like [rural North Yorkshire] was it was never going to qualify under the old scheme for flood defences in the same way because rural areas don’t have the density of accommodation which was the previous principal criteria for 100 per cent state funding,” she said.

“Our proposal for partnership funding means rural areas can bring forward their own proposals for things that will really make a difference and we would look to match them,” she said.