The Environment Agency (EA) has today launched a roadmap setting
out practical actions to be taken over the next four years to
tackle the growing threat of flooding from rivers, the sea, and
surface water as well as coastal erosion.
The FCERM Strategy Roadmap
builds on existing progress and sets out how we can be better
prepared for the unavoidable impacts of climate change by
ensuring the country is resilient and ready to respond and adapt
to flooding and coastal change. The Environment Agency will be
delivering the Roadmap with many partners including local
authorities, local drainage boards, farmers, environmental
groups, infrastructure providers and the insurance sector.
Delivery of the actions in the Roadmap will:
- Ensure that new homes will be safe from flooding.
- Maximise the use of nature to enhance flood and coastal
resilience while aiding nature recovery.
- Improve the flood resilience of our roads, railways, and
other vital national infrastructure.
- Ensure the delivery of environmental improvements and
sustainable growth as part of flood and coastal projects.
- Enhance our flood forecasting and warning services to help
people be better prepared to respond to flood events.
- Support building back better to reduce the damage and
disruption caused by flooding.
- Work with communities and local partners to develop long term
plans to manage future flooding and coastal change and adapt to
future hazards.
This Roadmap has been launched today by Environment Agency Chief
Executive Sir and Floods Minister at the Flood and Coast
Conference. It directly supports the implementation of the £5.2
billion capital investment programme which will better protect
many hundreds of thousands of properties from flooding and
coastal erosion by 2027.
Floods Minister said:
This roadmap sets out how we can build a more resilient nation.
It will work alongside our record investment of £5.2 billion in
flood and coastal defences between 2021 and 2027 to help better
protect communities.
Climate change will only bring more extreme weather and this
roadmap will spur on the timely action required to manage flood
and coastal risk, help reduce the costly impacts and manage the
risks to people’s homes and businesses across the country.
Sir , Chief Executive of the
Environment Agency, said:
Climate change is happening now, and its impacts will continue to
worsen. Rainfall patterns are changing, causing more frequent
flooding, and while we continue to protect and prepare coastal
communities from rising sea levels, it is inevitable that at some
point some of our communities will have to move back from the
coast.
We all need to adapt and become more resilient to these
challenges, and this roadmap sets out actions that will be taken
to do this over the next four years.
It will ensure that we make our communities more resilient to
flooding and coastal change, so that when it does happen, it
causes much less harm to people, does much less damage, and
ensures life can get back to normal much quicker.
Key actions from the roadmap include:
- Developing a new national assessment of flood risk from
rivers, the sea and surface water that will provide better data
and mapping to inform future risk and investment decisions.
- Working with coastal groups to update the policies and
actions in Shoreline Management Plans so they reflect adaptation
to a changing climate.
- Working with national infrastructure providers, including
National Highways and Network Rail, on joint investment
opportunities to ensure national infrastructure is resilient to
future flooding and coastal change.
- Working with Ofwat to ensure that water company assets are
resilient and contribute to better flood risk outcomes.
- Working with Natural England, the Wildfowl & Wetlands
Trust, and other partners to collate evidence and case studies to
help mainstream nature-based solutions that enhance flood and
coastal resilience and nature recovery.
- Working with Flood Re and the insurance sector to develop a
communications programme for homeowners to signpost advice and
support on the benefits of property flood resilience.
- Developing new training materials with the Town and Country
Planning Association to help improve skills and capabilities on
flood risk and development planning.
- Working with the Environment Agency’s supply chain to ensure
all flood and coastal projects adopt low carbon technologies that
contribute to zero carbon targets.
- Continuing to improve the Environment Agency’s digital tools
for people to check their flood risk and sign up to flood
warnings.
- Working with Department for Education, schools, and
children’s charities to improve young people’s knowledge of flood
risk and climate change.
The publication of the Roadmap comes after the Environment Agency
announced that it had exceeded its target in delivering the
government’s £2.6 billion investment in flood and coastal defence
schemes since 2015, better protecting more than 314,000 homes.
The Environment Agency is now working alongside partners to
deliver on the government’s record investment of £5.2 billion in
flood and coastal defences between 2021 and 2027, which will
better protect hundreds of thousands more properties as well as
avoid £32 billion of wider economic damages.
