Humberside flood prevention strategy

The Environment Agency has begun a major consultation exercise on a flood defence strategy for the Humberside area over the next 100 years.

The agency is preparing to spend around £80m on new or upgraded flood defences over the next seven years for the Humber estuary. By the end of this century the expenditure could top the £1bn mark.

The draft strategy contains detailed plans for each stretch of the Humber estuary with proposals for work in the near and mid-term as well as in the longer term.

Agency flood strategy manager Philip Winn said: "The Humber is a vulnerable area, with almost 100,000 hectares of land near the estuary vulnerable to flooding, so we must consider the long-term picture and how we can protect this valuable area."

He added: "Around most of the estuary we will raise the flood banks as sea levels rise, though there are some places where we may not be able to justify doing that, especially in the longer-term.

"Also there will be some places where we will need to abandon some land to the sea, as we have already done at Paull Holme Strays. Doing this creates valuable mudflat habitat and creates a sustainable way of managing one of nature’s strongest forces."

View the 'Humber Flood Risk Management Strategy' here.

Updated: Tuesday, September 6, 2005 12:53