A £973M strategy to protect land around the Humber estuary will involve not just maintaining the existing lines of defence, it could also see them set back in places.
The ~Environment Agency~'s Humber flood risk-management strategy, which was being discussed by its board in Middlesbrough as Surveyor went to press, sets out to protect and reinforce more than 1,700km of defences. It will look at managing flood risk to protect about 90,000ha and at least 300,000 people who live in the Humber’s tidal floodplain, including in Hull, Grimsby, Cleethorpes and Goole. T
he strategy identifies nine sites where defences might be realigned to recreate lost inter-tidal habitats – in line with the EU Habitats Directive – that would also serve as flood storage areas. This takes into account areas where the cost of holding the line cannot be justified.
Chief executive of the ~Environment Agency~ Barbara Young, said: ‘The defences surrounding the estuary are generally in good condition. Some areas need repairing now, and in the long term, we expect these defence works to offer a good standard of protection for 100 years or more.’
The EA hopes to start work on the short-term repairs that are needed in 2007/08. The investment levels outlined for the 100-year strategy would need to be endorsed by the Department for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs and the Treasury. The EA is investigating funding options, including the use of the private-finance initiative.
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