Grimsby among 25 areas in UK to be involved in £150m project to improve flood defences

Grimsby has been named as one of 25 areas in the UK to be involved in specialist projects by the Environment Agency which aim to improve flood defences and coastal resilience.

The project in this area will cover Grimsby, Immingham and Doncaster, where different approaches to combat surface water flooding will be trialled.

In the trials, local communities with be engaged with and sustainable drainage measures, such as water butts and rain gardens, will be retrofitted.

Other areas involved in the £150m project include Slough, which will see some of its roads transformed with permeable surfaces that soak up surface water, while in Northumberland, artificial intelligence and new sensor technology will be used to detect rising water levels.

In Buckinghamshire, residents will get an app which will warn them about the threat of groundwater.

The Chairwoman of the Environment Agency, Emma Howard Boyd, has called the project “extremely exciting” and suggested that if it is successful, it could be replicated on a larger scale around the world.

She said: “I’m particularly interested in the projects that test the ability of nature-based projects to generate revenue. If successful, these could be scaled up by private finance around the world, helping to prepare for climate shocks, restore nature and create jobs.

“The funding is in addition to the government’s record £5.2 billion investment in new flood and coastal defences to better protect 336,000 properties across England by 2027.

“The 25 areas have been selected following an expressions of interest process managed by Defra and the Environment Agency and assessed by an independent expert panel.”

Environment Minister Rebecca Pow said: “These 25 projects will not only help to inform future approaches to prepare communities for flooding and coastal change across the country, but also help reinforce the UK’s position as a world leader in innovation and new technology as we build back better.”

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