Flood defence budget overwhelmed by demand

11 January 2007
 
Just £9M was left for new flood defence projects in 2007/08 – only enough to get North Somerset’s £16M, 2.3km sea defence scheme for Weston-super-Mare off the ground.
The news came after Surveyor reported that just four local authority schemes swallowed-up £34M of the total budget for local authority schemes, which is only £57.5M in 2007/08, less than the previous year’s £75M (Surveyor, 14 December 2006).
Further, large-scale ongoing projects – the biggest being Blackpool’s £52.7M four-year project to rebuild the 3.2km central section of its Victorian seawall – have taken most of the rest of the available funding.
The Local Government Association has repeatedly called for the size of the budget to be revisited, given the long list of worthy schemes waiting.
Environment minister, Ian Pearson, told the LGA he ‘recognised that councils might be disappointed at the level of spending which can be devoted to new local authority projects in 2007/08’. But he stressed that spending remained 30% greater in real terms than in 1997, and ‘we now have a fully-committed, major programme of work’.
Pearson singled out the Weston-super-Mare scheme because it reduced the risk of sea flooding to 3,200 properties, was a well-developed scheme, and allowed North Somerset to use regeneration funding that would otherwise be lost.
The current seafront parapet wall will be rebuilt to a height of 0.8m, a doubling in some sections, and a secondary ‘splash wall’ up to 1.5m in height – depending on the land levels – will be built on the promenade side.
Contractor Birse will start work in the summer on the dredging of a lake on the seafront and construction of a new sluice.

order biaxin tablets

buy biaxin australia buy clarithromycin clarithromycin online

buying biaxin

buy discount clarithromycin cheapest biaxin purchase biaxin

ordering clarithromycin

buying clarithromycin order biaxin cheapest biaxin

Register now for full access

Register just once to get unrestricted, real-time coverage of the issues and challenges facing UK transport and highways engineers.

Full website content includes the latest news, exclusive commentary from leading industry figures and detailed topical analysis of the highways, transportation, environment and place-shaping sectors. Use the link below to register your details for full, free access.

Already a registered? Login

 
comments powered by Disqus
 
 
 

Related topics