Government urged to match regional leaders’ flooding investment
A year after devastating floods hit South Yorkshire, affecting more than 1,000 homes and 565 businesses, investment is being announced to help stop it happening again.
The Sheffield City Region Mayoral Combined Authority has agreed to bring forward investment to kick start work on nine critical flood protection schemes.
The £5.5m will protect 860 homes across South Yorkshire, as well as ensuring infrastructure including Sheffield Midland and Rotherham rail stations, major road and rail and Supertram networks, are resilient to flooding in the future.
And the money will support more measures to protect communities from surface water flooding across Doncaster, while also being used to renew or improve culverts around Barnsley and the Dearne.
In a joint letter to the Secretary of State, for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Mayor Dan Jarvis and the four South Yorkshire leaders call on the Government to match their commitment in order to get the works moving and provide the remaining £36m at the Spending Review to ensure the nine schemes are completed swiftly.
Mayor Jarvis said: “The impact of the floods goes beyond material and economic damage, it carries a human cost of lives disrupted, homes abandoned, futures made uncertain and full of hardship.
“The dangers of flooding have not subsided, only last week, once again we saw the effects flooding has on whole communities with towns and villages flooded across Yorkshire.
“We are putting our money where our mouth is – but now we need the Government to do the same at the Spending Review.
“We will continue to work closely with the four local authorities and the Environment Agency to deliver these schemes, and I am pleased that the majority of our 27 priority flood schemes are proposed for inclusion in the Environment Agency’s indicative future programme of works.”
Councillor Sir Steve Houghton, leader of Barnsley Council, said: “We cannot underestimate how devastating flooding is to people’s homes, their lives, their businesses and their health and wellbeing.
“I urge the Government to recognise this and match our commitment in order to get the works moving to protect the residents of both Barnsley and wider South Yorkshire.”
Ros Jones, Mayor of Doncaster, said: “Lots of improvement work has been carried out over the last 12 months to provide greater resilience to flooding and our enhanced flood response plans mean we are better prepared as we head towards winter too.
“Our Flood Recovery report highlighted how essential it is National Government makes good on the promises given to Doncaster people last November to invest significantly in future flood protection and resilience that will sustainably address the challenges we face now and into the future.”
Leader of Rotherham Council, Cllr Chris Read, said: “The council, the businesses and the people of Rotherham certainly haven’t forgotten the suffering caused by last November’s floods and we need to ensure the Government isn’t allowed to forget either.
“The South Yorkshire Councils have demonstrated this is important to us as it is to our residents. Now we need the Government to step up and ensure our area receives the funding it needs.”
Cllr Julie Dore, leader of Sheffield City Council, said: “Over the last few years we have invested heavily in flood defence schemes in Sheffield, to protect homes and businesses and save lives from the effects of severe flood incidents.
“However, even after completing defence schemes in Sheffield, we saw during the serious flooding last November, that more investment is needed.
“Collectively South Yorkshire was hard hit and the recovery process from such events can be long and costly, as well as being devastating to the individuals and businesses directly affected.”
