Yorkshire to recieve flood defence funding following Hebden Bridge incident

The first communities to receive funding from the Frequently Flooded Allowance have been announced, together receiving more than £26 million, the Government said.

Areas with 10 or more properties that have been flooded at least twice in the last 10 years are eligible for the fund, which totals £100 million.

The first tranche includes 2,300 households and businesses, part of 53 flood defence projects, that are to receive better protection, the Government said.

Much of the money will go to communities in Worcestershire, Cumbria and West Yorkshire, which have been repeatedly flooded during various exceptional storms since 2015.

Hebden Bridge in the Calder Valley is particularly vulnerable to surface water flooding because of the steep hills around the town.

Thousands of homes and businesses were affected on Boxing Day 2015 when Storm Eva unleashed a torrent that caused millions of pounds of damage.

Recent analysis from the University of Bristol found that if greenhouse gases continue warming the Earth’s climate to about 3.3C above preindustrial levels, damage from flooding could rise by more than a fifth across the UK.

Environment Minister Rebecca Pow said: ”We know only too well the devastating impact that flooding can have on communities and businesses, as we face more extreme weather brought about by climate change.

“I am determined that we do whatever we can to prevent flooding that affects so many towns and villages across the country.

“This much-needed funding will go a long way to support those whose homes and livelihoods are repeatedly threatened by flooding and forms a key part of our record £5.2 billion investment by 2027 to protect communities in England better.”

The projects are a mix of hard engineering flood defences and natural measures. Funding will also be used for the installation of flood doors and barriers for properties, which the Government said will help homes where traditional defence schemes are not viable.

It comes amid warnings that flooding could become a “major public health issue”, with climate change bringing more waterborne damage to NHS infrastructure.

Between April 2021 and March 2022, there were 176 flooding incidents at NHS sites across the UK, according to research from the not-for-profit Round Our Way.

Alexis Percival, a manager at the Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust, said: “Flooding has undoubtedly caused damage to healthcare infrastructure and it’s highly disruptive to staff and patients.

“Our area isn’t even in the top 10 listed in the report but we’ve seen flooding make roads impassable, leading to ambulances being unable to get to patients on time, NHS keyworkers struggling to get to work and patients missing appointments.

“Just three weeks ago floodwaters came worryingly close to Fairfields, the main Yorkshire 999 call centre. I am really concerned if we don’t tackle climate change, today’s near-misses could become tomorrow’s major disruptions to our NHS.”

Professor Maggie Rae, president of the Royal Society of Medicine’s Epidemiology & Public Health Section, said: “Flooding has the potential to be a major public health issue.”