The London Assembly has called for the Mayor to prioritise funding to restore rivers in the capital, helping to cut the risk of further flooding.
Earlier this week the Assembly reported that figures provided by the Environment Agency showed that 24,000 homes in London are now at risk of flooding – with 14,408 of them categorised as at ‘high risk’ of flooding.
Flood prevention plans cover 10,000 of them - subject to finding funding of about 100 million pounds over ten years - of which half might come from central government grants. However some 14,000 homes would remain at significant risk (1 in 75 per year) even if the proposed schemes can be fully implemented.
Murad Qureshi AM, Chair of the Environment Committee, said:
“The figures we have obtained from the Environment Agency show far too many homes in London remain at high flood risk. The Prime Minister has said that money is no object, so it’s time for the Mayor to cash in that promise and secure the funding necessary to protect those London homes. Current flood defence proposals will only protect a fraction of the homes at high risk.”
In a motion passed unanimously at a meeting of the full Assembly today, the Assembly has urged the Mayor to ensure that prioritise funding to restore rivers more rapidly in flood risk ‘hotspots’. The Assembly said that restoring many of London’s rivers and flood basins to their natural state would help protect the 24,000 homes in the capital at risk of river flooding.
The motion says:
“While the Thames Barrier protects most London homes from tidal flooding for the time being, we still face significant risks from surface water and river flooding. There are 24,000 homes at risk of river flooding,and we could help protect them by restoring many rivers and flood basins to their natural states, increasing their capacity to absorb and hold water.”
“This Assembly notes that the Mayor planned to restore 15km of local rivers by 2015 to reduce flood risks, and that 14km have already been delivered. There is potential for hundreds of kilometres to be restored, and the River Restoration Centre has already identified 63 projects around the capital which could reduce flood risks to thousands of homes. These would be delivered by the Environment Agency, boroughs and through local community action. Past projects have varied in cost between £104,000 and £18 million.”
The Assembly is now calling on the Mayor of London to identify funds to bring forward more river restoration projects in London as soon as possible, targeted to reduce the flood risk in the worst hotspots, and to work with partners to attract more external funding to complete the proposed projects across London.
The top five boroughs with the most homes at ‘high risk’ of tidal and river flooding are:
| BOROUGH | HOMES AT HIGH RISK |
|
Waltham Forest – 1st Kingston upon Thames – 2nd Barnet – 3rd Richmond upon Thames - 4th Hounslow - 5th |
2,510 2361 1136 948 805 |
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