Region nets third of national funds to stop homes flooding

A total of 181 properties in the region will get protection which could include flood barriers for doors or gates and airbrick covers, which help to minimise damage from flood water and reduce the time needed to repair a building.

The Environment Agency said £791,750 was being awarded to protect homes in eight communities in Yorkshire.

The money for Yorkshire is more than a third of the £2.3m pot which is made being made available nationally.

The schemes supported in Yorkshire are:

£210,000 to protect 44 properties in Bilton, near Hull;

£127,000 for 30 properties at Kinsley, near Wakefield;

£127,500 for 30 properties at Kirkby Mills, Kirkbymoorside, North Yorkshire;

£42,500 for 10 properties at Middle Whiston, Rotherham;

£21,250 for five properties at Garforth, Leeds;

£63,750 for 15 properties at Lower Wortley, Leeds;

£148,750 for 35 properties at Lower Whiston, Rotherham;

£51,000 for 12 properties at Upper Whiston, Rotherham.

An Environment Agency spokeswoman said the grants to Yorkshire councils represented a rise on the £369,800 handed out last year, and added: “The money has been allocated to areas where properties are at a high risk of flooding and there are no plans for a community flood defence in the foreseeable future.”

Local authorities can use the funding to survey properties to determine the most appropriate measures to protect each property. They will then use the remaining money to pay for measures to be installed at the properties.

Some communities that suffer regular flooding have already installed such products, giving effective protection. In Eamont Bridge, Cumbria, a grant was made available following the 2009 floods for the local authority to protect those homes most at risk.

About 40 properties have been protected using a variety of measures such as door guards, airbrick covers, non-return (one-way) valves and pumps. The installations were carried out by both Environment Agency contractors and the homeowners themselves.

The recent flooding in Cornwall demonstrated how greater use of household flood protection could have prevented many homes suffering the flood damage that they did.

Environment Minister Richard Benyon said: “Flood protection isn’t only about building and maintaining defences – it’s also about being prepared to deal with floods when they happen. Property level protection can be incredibly successful in communities that suffer low-level flooding, and these grants will ensure more homes and possessions can be protected.”

The Environment Agency’s chief executive, Dr Paul Leinster said: “These grants will also enable more people in more communities to protect their homes and possessions against flooding. The agency has completed 225 new defences since the summer of 2007, increasing protection to over 198,000 properties.

“However, one in six homes in England and Wales is at risk of flooding, so we need to continue working with partners to protect as many as possible.

“Individuals and businesses can help themselves by making their properties more resistant to flooding using products like the ones local authorities will be purchasing with the grant money announced today.

“The relatively small cost of these products could save a fortune in repairs and lost possessions in the event of a flood.”

The Conservative MP for Thirsk and Malton, Anne McIntosh, said: “This is not flood defences on the cheap – resilience measures were called for by the Pitt Review to make these homes in areas at risk of flooding more resilient.”

East Riding councillor Matthew Grove added: “I am delighted we have secured a further scheme for Bilton to reduce the risk of internal flooding.”