ADDITIONAL funding to protect against flooding in south Shropshire has been welcomed by Ludlow MP, Philip Dunne.

The Government is investing a record £5.2 billion in flood and coastal defences over the next six years to better protect 336,000 properties.

Recently the government published the Investment Plan which sets out around 1,000 schemes across England which will receive investment in the first year of the programme.

In south Shropshire, flood relief works to surface water and ordinary watercourse flood areas east of Church Stretton have been allocated £375,000, and a further £30,000 will support the Alveley Flood Alleviation Scheme.

But Ludlow has missed out again.

“The devastating scenes of flooding in Europe recently show how important it is to invest in proper flood defences,” said Mr Dunne, who chairs the parliamentary environment audit committee.

“When severe rainfall sets in, unfortunately areas of south Shropshire are prone to flooding, so I am pleased the government is investing £405,000 in two schemes in south Shropshire in this first year of the new flooding investment plan.

“There is clearly a need for a holistic approach to flooding along the Severn, but this is welcome investment.

“I am continuing to engage with Ministers alongside other Shropshire MPs for a long-term solution to localised flooding, as well as with the Environment Agency to press for sorting out specific areas in south Shropshire where flood schemes are still required to protect properties prone to flooding in recent years.”

The Government has also set out further action to improve access to insurance and to support Flood Re to achieve its objectives.

This includes a commitment to make changes to the Flood Re scheme, which will see it support householders through discounted insurance premiums for those who have installed property flood resilience measures like flood doors and air brick covers.

The changes will also help provide additional funding from Flood Re as part of an insurance claim after a flood to help ‘build back better’ in a flood resilient way.