Environment Agency outlines its £5.2 billion plan to keep us from flooding

You’ve probably seen that image which does the rounds on the internet every now and again. A map of the UK regularly accompanied by a tagline stating ‘how the country will look in 30 years time’.

The outline’s recognisable enough. The head of Scotland, the toe of Cornwall and our major cities are all there.

But look closer and parts of the country are missing or highlighted a different colour - including huge swathes of the east of England.

The entire coastline from Hull in Yorkshire to Blakeney in Norfolk, plus are large inland area reaching to Cambridge and Lincoln, encompassing an area including Spalding, Long Sutton, King’s Lynn, Boston, the Deepings, Bourne, Wisbech, March, Chatteris and everything in between are all projected to be below annual flood level by 2050.

According to journal Ocean and Coastal Management, sea levels are predicted to rise approximately 35cm by 2050, with an estimated 200,000 homes and businesses at risk.

In a bid to combat flooding in the fens and beyond, the Environment Agency are currently leading a multi-billion-pound project to keep the waters at bay by bolstering their defences along the coast and rivers.

“Amongst the current £5.2 billion investment to better protect homes and business from flooding in England, there are a number of important projects in South Lincolnshire and around The Wash in Norfolk,” a spokesperson for the Environment Agency said.

“Flood and Coastal defence schemes include the annual beach renourishment from Saltfleet to Gibraltar Point and areas of Norfolk, the £120m Boston Tidal Barrier, Lincoln Defences and completion of a major multi-million pound project on the Ouse Washes.

“We are also delivering innovative schemes to embed a resilient and long-term approach to managing flooding. Projects include the Lower Witham Flood Resilience Project, the East Coast Strategy and Fens 2100+ Strategy.”

Work on projects began in 2021 with the £5.2 billion invested from then until 2027 to create around 2,000 new flood and coastal risk management schemes across England.

These schemes will help to avoid up to £32 billion in wider economic damages and reduce the risk of considerable disruption caused by potential future flooding to the daily lives of more than 4,000,000 people.

It will also better protect 550km of road and rail infrastructure, create or improve 5,440 hectares of natural habitat, and enhance 830km of rivers.

Among the Environment Agency projects in the pipeline for the area are:

The Lower Witham flood resilience project: This 10-15-year project will continue the legacy of drainage works and embanked watercourses on fenland between Lincoln and Boston.

The Saltfleet to Gibraltar Point strategy: By restoring beach levels lost over the year, the Environment Agency protects its hard sea defences from the impact of waves and tides.

The coastline between Mablethorpe and Skegness has benefited from beach nourishment, the present flood risk management approach, since 1994.

The Environment Agency is also looking at a scheme for Cowbit and Crowland Wash.

Completed projects include:

Lincolnshire coast beach management: Work to reduce the risk of flooding for Lincolnshire’s coastal communities began in April 2021 with the yearly replenishment of sand on beaches between Saltfleet and Gibraltar Point.

The Environment Agency’s annual beach management scheme sees sand dredged from licensed areas of the seabed and pumped onto the beach to replace levels naturally lost to the sea throughout the year.

Replenishing the sand means the beaches – instead of hard defences like sea walls – take the brunt of the waves’ force and energy. This reduces the amount of damage and erosion to those hard defences.

The Boston Barrier flood gate: This completed project has enhanced the level of flood protection to over 13,000 homes and businesses in the town.

As the centrepiece of the flood scheme, the barrier gate can be raised in just 20 minutes, responding quickly to threats of North Sea tidal surges.

Lincoln’s refurbished sluice gates: Stamp End Sluice, Lincoln’s most important piece of infrastructure on the River Witham, is being given a mechanical and electrical upgrade, extending its life by another 30 years.

The structure consists of three steel gates and controls river levels throughout the city, which prevents water building up in Brayford Pool.

Louth and Horncastle flood alleviation schemes: These schemes have collectively reduced flood risk to more than 350 properties.

Communities in Louth and Horncastle were significantly affected by the floods of summer 2007, when more than 200 properties in the area were flooded.

Ouse washes work: This multi-million pound project to raise the Middle Level Barrier Bank of the Ouse Washes Flood Storage Reservoir saw six years of construction, the project maintaining the standard of flood protection to more than 2,000 properties and 67,000ha of agricultural land. The Washes are an internationally-important habitat.