Shropshire communities to benefit from record £10.5 billion investment in flood defences

The Government today (October 14) announced record funding to protect almost 900,000 properties across England. 

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The Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) confirmed that communities in the county will receive a share of the investment, with specific allocations to be set out in the coming months.

Floods Minister Emma Hardy MP also announced major reforms to the way flood defence funding is allocated - the first changes since 2011. The Government said the system has since "failed" to support more innovative solutions, such as natural flood management schemes like those seen recently introduced in Shropshire. 

It added that a complex application process has disadvantaged councils with limited resources, meaning poorer communities have struggled to build the flood defences they need.

Under the new rules, that will be used for the next flood programme starting in April 2026, all prioritised flood projects valued at £3 million or less will be eligible for full Government funding.

Prioritised projects above this threshold will be eligible for the first £3 million of support upfront, and 90 per cent of the costs thereafter.  

Floods Minister Emma Hardy said: "For too long, deprived towns and cities struggled to secure the vital money needed for flood defences due to a complicated and outdated process.

"Our reforms will rip this up and help communities get back on their feet after floods - by unlocking economic growth, building new homes and creating new jobs. 

"This government will be investing a record £10.5 billion into new flood defences and repairing existing assets to protect more people from the devastation of flooding."

Under the new rules, if an eligible scheme valued at £10 million was approved and prioritised for investment, the scheme owners would only need to provide £700,000 to "get spades in the ground," with the Government contributing £9.3 million towards the project's costs.

The Government has already provided more than £1.5 million in funding for flood defence projects across Shropshire between April 2025 and March next year.

Recent schemes include the Undefended Properties in the Ironbridge Gorge initiative, which received £708,000 and has better protected 32 properties from flooding.

Demonstrator projects exploring nature-based flood solutions in the Rea Brook, and Guilsfield and Afon Cain catchments received £209,000 and £76,000 respectively.

Property resilience projects in Bridgnorth, Bucknell, and Culmington also shared funding. In total, 24 properties in Bridgnorth benefited from a £150,000 investment, 12 in Bucknell from £68,000, and 10 in Culmington from £28,000.

Further funding was also awarded to demonstrator projects focused on nature-based flood management in Shrewsbury and surrounding areas, including the Marches Future Farming scheme that received £248,000, the Centre for Living with Climate Change that received £151,000 and a Geospatial scheme that was given £60,000.