Internal drainage boards (IDBs) will receive £16 million in funding for flood protection, benefiting over 400,000ha of agricultural land across England.
The Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said the funding will also benefit over 91,000 homes and businesses in addition to £75 million previously allocated to the IDBs.
The department said IDBs are vital local public bodies who manage water levels for agricultural and environmental needs across the country.
They serve 1.2 million ha of land – covering 9.7% of the country’s total land area – operate around 500 pumping stations, and maintain more than 22,000km of watercourses.
The funding will help IDBs with operational expenses following the winter storms of 2023/2024, including the repair of pumping stations.
The funding will also contribute to the modernisation and upgrading of drainage boards’ waterways, to ensure they are equipped for the future.
Minister for Water and Flooding, Emma Hardy said: “Flooding can take a devastating toll on farmers and rural communities.
“This additional funding will ensure rural flood assets are more resilient or fully replaced, putting IDBs on a firm footing to deliver their vital work on flood and water management for years to come.
“Thousands of properties and tens of thousands of hectares of farmland are already seeing their flood resilience improved as part of the government’s Plan for Change, and today’s further investment will help support our farmers further.”
The Environment Agency manages the fund and will distribute grants to IDBs by the end of April 2025.
Drainage boards
Clerk to the York Consortium of Drainage Boards, Bill Symons, said: “The funding has reduced financial pressure locally at a critical time after a period of flooding and loss of productivity in agriculture, along with shortages of funds in local authorities.”
Projects already delivered through the A £1.3 million project to install four new pumps at Marshfield and Lapperditch pumping stations in the Lower Severn catchment near Gloucester has been completed, and will be able to operate for at least 25 years.
The new pumps will also support the River Severn flood defences, 12km of roads, and fish and eels, as well as reducing the amount of time farmland in the area spends under water.
More than 64% of England’s agricultural land graded excellent and suitable for a wide range of crops with consistently high yields, is within regions managed by IDBs. Approximately 20% of arable production is from land in or close to IDBs.
