‘Stump up £60m to stop more floods on the Humber’

Five local authorities will be asked to cough up £450,000 a year over 20 years to keep defences shipshape on the estuary.

The Environment Agency admits it will be a tough ask, with councils facing huge financial pressures, but say it is crucial for future jobs and growth.

It comes three months after the tidal surge left hundreds of homes and businesses flooded on both sides of the Humber.

Communities like South Ferriby, where 113 homes, were flooded are slowly getting back on their feet, but only a handful of people are back home.

Innes Thomson, area flood and coastal risk manager, said: “Over the next 20 years we need to invest in the order of £300m into the Humber estuary flood defences north and south bank and it is absolutely crucial that local authorities and the Environment Agency and our partners club together to make this happen.”

He added: “I am really worried that local authorities are under such an amount of strain in terms of cutting costs and people that even the £450,000, which doesn’t seem a great deal of money for local authorities, who have budgets of £600m to £800m a year, it is still peoples’ jobs, it is public services.”

Additional sources of funding could include the Humber LEP, European funding and private business, and Mr Thomson stressed that investment in basic infrastructure like flood defences was vital to attract investors.

He said every pound spent would avoid £8 of damage: “Councils need to think about what the gain is, what the benefit is to the local Humber economy. Doing nothing is an option that will blight the Humber over time. If we don’t invest in basic infrastructure we will get investors say they are going to invest in the Thames instead. The £300m is peanuts compared to the overall benefits.”

The tidal surge was a reminder they needed to “crack on” on with the strategy, which has been in the pipeline since 2008. Mr Thomson said: “December 5 has highlighted the need to do something, get support from the local authorities and convert all the studies and good work and crack on and get some action. My goal is to get the strategy to their cabinets and get their full support.

“I need to have that support on the table by the end of the financial year and I am very confident we can get there.”

Local authorities will be meeting later this month with the Environment Agency, with another meeting scheduled in June.

They will sign a contract before costed options go public.

A spokesman said: “The reason for this is to ensure funding is available for all the options.”

North East Lincolnshire council leader Chris Shaw said the Environment Agency needed to “talk to them sooner, rather than later” and said the additional funding “would be just another massive pressure on the council”.

Meanwhile builders’ vans were all over South Ferriby which got the full brunt of the floodwater in December.

There, £10m worth of work has been mooted raising flood defences alongside the village and beyond the Cemex plant.

Although flooded households have been given £300 each and had three months off their council tax, the cost of flooding has hit the 20 households without full cover hard. Others have found their drives and garages and their contents were not covered.

The £5,000 offer from central Government to make homes flood resilient may come too late for those who have started repairs.

The community continues to be generous - and a fund for those in need has raised £64,000 so far.

Parish councillor Sara Haddon said: “I expect everybody who has applied will get some money, as long as there is a genuine need. It’s an ongoing fund and we will be fund-raising all summer.”