Council set to agree £270m of funding for flood risk management work

Surrey County Council’s cabinet is set to agree £270m of funding for long term flood risk management work across the county to protect homes and roads.That includes a contribution to the River Thames Scheme, which will reduce flood risk to 15,000 properties and tens of thousands of people living and working near the Thames.Costing £640m, the scheme represents the largest investment in flood risk in the UK to date. Some £404m has already been committed including £308m government investment and £95m of further partnership funding. The Environment Agency and the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead have also agreed contributions towards the scheme.The River Thames Scheme will create three flood alleviation channels alongside the River Thames and improve capacity at three weirs. It will run from Datchet in Berkshire, through Surrey to Teddington. The scheme will also support a greener future, with four country parks created as well as 23km of new footways and cycle paths.Surrey County Council’s funding also includes £33m to spend more than ten years on flood alleviation projects and other actions to minimise the impact of flooding on homes, businesses and infrastructure across the county. These could be jointly-funded, such as the recently unveiled flood alleviation scheme in Godalming which was funded by the Environment Agency, Surrey County Council and others.The council is proposing to borrow some of the money as well as developing a masterplan to identify long term opportunities to help fund the works – such as new eco-communities with housing and employment on land unlocked by the River Thames Scheme.Surrey County Council’s decision on Tuesday 29 October will be a significant step in demonstrating the River Thames Scheme’s affordability. It will build upon the ongoing investment to date and provide the confidence needed to proceed with the next steps of the scheme’s delivery. This will include requesting approval from the Treasury and development of applications for the statutory consents required to enable the schemes construction.