OPINION - How government funding will help us tackle the threat of flooding

You will have seen recently the welcome news that the Environment Agency has confirmed millions of pounds of funding for flood relief schemes in Suffolk.

£68 million will be spent on projects across East Anglia, of which flood schemes in Suffolk have been allocated more than £14 million.

This is very good news as it means Suffolk County Council can continue to develop and deliver these important flood relief schemes.

Our landscape means Suffolk is vulnerable to flooding, both inland and from the sea, a scenario that is compounded by the impact of increased rainfall through climate change, so we need prepare against it.

Therefore I am very happy to see our schemes are being supported financially by the Environment Agency.

Significantly, the hugely important Benacre and Kessingland flood risk management scheme receives £10,105,000.

This is a £64m project that will ensure the A12 is protected from coastal flooding. It is being implemented by the Waveney, Lower Yare and Lothingland Internal Drainage Board but Suffolk County Council has provided £2 million and agreed to underwrite a further £2.7m to enable it to proceed.

Other council projects to receive funding from the EA are the Sudbury Surface Water Flood Alleviation scheme, which receives £300,000, and the Leiston Surface Flood Water scheme which receives £202,000.

The Sudbury scheme will add another flood storage basin to one SCC constructed in 2022 and which will reduce the flood risk for more than 20 homes, while the Leiston scheme will provide property level flood protection to 40 households in the town and surrounding villages that have either experienced internal flooding, or are at high risk of flooding.

We have also completed a SuDs in Schools project, working in partnership with Anglian Water and the Department for Education, at three schools, including the High School in Leiston.

The project has resulted in flood attenuation measures such as flood storage basins, rain gardens, and planters that store water from downpipes, while providing educational resources for pupils. The overall project will cost £190,000, with £180,000 of this secured from external partners.

Suffolk County Council is classed as a Lead Local Flood Authority. As such we are responsible for investigating three types of flooding:

• Surface water (rainfall) runoff, which flows from, or over, surfaces that cannot easily absorb water
• Overflowing ordinary watercourses (e.g. small streams/ditches)
• Groundwater flooding caused when heavy or prolonged rainfall makes the groundwater table rise above its normal level

Over the last year we have worked hard to ensure proposed developments and works to watercourses across Suffolk mitigate flood risk.

This also includes mapping more than 4,500 individual historic flood incidents and developing a new flood risk asset register mapping system.

A Suffolk Flood Risk Partnership Day was also held to foster greater collaboration and information-sharing among stakeholders, leading to improved flood management strategies and effectiveness of flood mitigation projects across the region.

As we all know, Storm Babet in 2023 had a huge impact on Suffolk and, two years on, its effects are still being felt.

Flood resilience schemes in Needham Market and Debenham because of Storm Babet will get funding from the EA money - £560,000 in Needham Market and £81,000.

These projects, led by the Environment Agency, will fund flood doors and other measures to prevent flood water entering individual properties. Suffolk County Council supported the EA to identify affected homes and promote the availability of this funding.

The council’s Flood Investigations and Grants Team also administers a separate grant fund specifically to support those properties flooded during Storm Babet.

The incredible hard work of this team cannot be understated. It was created in the immediate aftermath of the storm and has excelled, so much so that it has now been shortlisted in the ‘Small Team of the Year’ category in the Local Government Chronicle Awards 2025. I am sure you will join me in wishing them the very best of luck.

If you were affected by Babet and have not yet made an application for funding, please note that the grant for new applications closes in May.