Flood defence cuts could damage businesses, warns
BPF
The British Property Federation (BPF) has warned that planned
cuts to flood defence spending could damage businesses across the
country and the economy as a whole.
Currently, 95% of flood defence costs comes from the government.
However, just £500 million has been allocated for flood defences
from 2011 to 2015, a reduction of £216 million a year.
In light of the planned cuts, the National Flood and Coastal
Erosion Risk Management Strategy has proposed that local
communities and businesses could contribute to flood defence
schemes that would directly benefit them.
A consultation read, "In the future, the government would like
to encourage additional local investment in flood and coastal
erosion risk management, and give areas at risk a bigger say in the
action taken."
However, the BPF has said that, whilst it was behind proposals
to add to the amount of flood defence investment through business
contributions, it believed that the amount the government is
seeking from private contributions is unrealistic.
Assistant Director at the BPF, James Anderson, said, "It is
right that those who benefit from flood defences help to fund them,
but we struggle to see how, particularly given the state of the
economy, private investment can reach the levels government is
expecting."