Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment has been made of flood risk in areas along the River Ribble and River Darwen as part of the Preston and South Ribble Flood Management Scheme; what funding has been made available to improve flood defences in affected locations in those areas; what (a) meetings have taken place and (b) correspondence has been exchanged between the Environment Agency and Lancashire County Council to facilitate that work; and when that work will be completed in each of those locations identified as at risk of flooding.

The Environment Agency (EA) assessed and modelled flood risk from the rivers Ribble and Darwen in 2012, 2016 and 2018 to inform the current flood risk management scheme for Preston and South Ribble.

£3.2m of Flood Defence Grant in Aid (FDGiA) funding has been made available and brought forward into the current EA 6 year programme. This will enable a scheme to be built more quickly than previously planned as long as suitable contributions in line with the funding formula can be found.

Meetings between the EA and Lancashire County Council have taken place since October 2015 with regard to the current Preston and South Ribble Flood Risk Management Scheme. These meetings have focused on securing additional funding from the European Structural Investment Fund (ESIF) and on preparing and submitting an application to this fund in line with the European Regional Development Fund timescales. Correspondence with regard to this submission has been exchanged.

Based on the current modelled assumptions and all funding being secured, a flood risk management scheme to provide improved flood protection to communities within Preston and South Ribble could be designed and constructed between 2019/2023.