UK Environment Secretary, Andrea Leadsom, has announced new £1 million natural flood management competition, part of the government’s drive to reduce flooding by using a range of innovative techniques.
This government funded competition is the first of its kind and will be open to innovative projects that plan to use landscape features such as ponds, banks, meanders, channels, etc.
Natural flood management already forms an important part of the government’s flood strategy and funding these new projects builds on £14m already committed to similar schemes across the country, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said in its release.
“We now carefully look at flood risk across an entire catchment area from a river’s source to the sea – to make sure we have in place the best tailored mix of natural as well as concrete, engineered defenses to better protect communities,” said Leadsom.
The Environment Secretary announced the new competition in Leicester, where a natural flood management scheme is already successfully in place reconnecting the floodplain with the river.
The deadline for competition entries is 19 May 2017 and the successful projects are expected to be announced by the end of June 2017.