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The Environment Agency has completed works on improving the Cliffe area of Lewes flood defences, reducing flood risk for 209 properties.
The Cliffe area was just one part of the town to experience severe flooding in October 2000. Since then the Agency has been working to improve flood protection for the town and developed the Ouse strategy, culminating in new flood defences at Malling Brooks in 2004 which protects hundreds of properties, funded with £2 million from government.
Due to national priorities government funding for further improvements for the town’s flood defences were not available. The Environment Agency receives the majority of funding for flood risk management works from the Government in the form of Flood Defence Grant-in-Aid.
Flood Defence Committees are able to levy charges on local authorities for a limited amount to fund local priorities. The local levy is used to support, with the approval of the relevant committee, flood risk management projects that are not considered to be national priorities and hence do not attract national funding through flood defence grant in aid.
Scheme funded by Regional Flood Defence Committee
Regional Flood Defence Committee (RFDC) agreed to pay for works at Cliffe using their annual levy on councils in the South East. The Cliffe area was identified as the next highest priority in the town due to the number of homes at risk of flooding.
The work, which started in June 2009, included raising existing flood wall heights, building new walls and installing floodgates. Designers of the scheme ensured that the materials and design of the new flood protection works match those traditionally used in the Cliffe conservation area, including special brick cladding for flood walls.
Mark Douch, Environment Agency Area Flood Risk Manager, said:
“With the completion of this scheme we have improved flood protection for more than 500 properties and businesses in the Cliffe and Malling areas of Lewes since the floods of October 2000. While we cannot stop flooding we will continue to work with the community and the local authority to ensure flood risk is appropriately managed.”
Welcoming the scheme, Norman Baker, MP for Lewes, said:
“Lewes is still at risk from flooding and I hope even more will be done in the future to help protect our unique and important town flooding in one or two areas, so the battle goes on to ensure those residual areas not covered by the first two schemes, most notably the Pells area, are also given more robust protection as soon as possible. I am grateful to the Environment Agency and the Regional Flood Defence Committee for the commitment they have shown to Lewes."
RFDC anticipates more projects going ahead
Mike Bateman, Chairman of the Regional Flood Defence Committee, said:
“The RFDC was very pleased to be able to include the Lewes scheme in its programme of work across the region supported by local authorities. I'm delighted that the work has now been completed, giving residents and businesses in this part of the town an increased level of protection against flooding. We're looking forward to many similar projects going ahead, even at a time when funding is under pressure, so that we can protect other communities where the need is greatest.".
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