The Environment Agency
today announced
plans to increase flood protection to 200,000
homes and businesses in England and Wales
by 2015.
Launching the 2010-2015
corporate strategy at its annual conference
in London, the organisation today warned
that more properties face an increasing
risk of coastal erosion and flooding from
rivers and the sea due to climate change
and population growth.
The number of properties
in England and Wales at significant risk
of flooding could increase from 570,000
in 2009 to over 900,000 by 2035 at current
levels of flood defence investment.
Since 2007, the Environment
Agency has completed 102 flood defence schemes
protecting over 63,000 additional homes
in England and Wales.
Earlier this year, construction
started on a £50m defence project
to protect 16,000 properties in Nottingham
and work has recently begun on the final
stage of a £29m scheme in Weston-Super-Mare
to protect 4500 homes and businesses from
the risk of coastal flooding.
Work is also well underway
at Dymchurch, Kent where a £60m scheme
is increasing protection to 2,471 residential
properties and 7,672 hectares of agricultural
land.
The Environment Agency is already planning
to manage a predicted one metre rise in
sea levels. The Thames Barrier and its associated
schemes, which protect 1.25 million people
across the capital, will need to be upgraded
or replaced by 2070 to cope with the effects
of climate change.
By 2115, a predicted
ten per cent increase in wave heights and
wind speeds will increase the threat from
coastal surges.
Environment Agency director
of flooding and coastal erosion risk management,
Robert Runcie, said: “The Environment Agency
plans to protect an additional 200,000 properties
in England and Wales from coastal erosion
and flooding by 2015.
“Since 2007, we have
completed 102 defences and this year we
are progressing some major new schemes including
Nottingham, Dymchurch and Weston-Super-Mare.
“However, no one can
prevent flooding entirely and so people
should check the Environment Agency’s website
to see if their postcode is at risk of flooding
and sign up to receive free flood warnings.”
Ambitious strategy launched
to protect environment and tackle climate
change
The Environment Agency today set out an
ambitious five year plan to clean up rivers,
defend more properties against flooding,
reduce emissions, discharges and waste from
industry, and tackle the causes and consequences
of climate change.
Chief Executive Dr Paul
Leinster today unveiled the Environment
Agency’s 2010-2015 corporate strategy at
its annual conference in London and outlined
plans to:
Protect an extra 200,000
homes and businesses in England and Wales
from flooding
Improve 9,000 miles of waterways – the equivalent
of the distance between the UK and Australia
Continue to reduce serious pollution incidents
by five per cent every year
Prevent inappropriate development in areas
at risk of flooding
Support low-carbon technologies, including
renewables such as wind, tidal and solar,
carbon capture and storage, and nuclear
power
Make it cheaper and easier for businesses
to comply with environmental standards
Continue to reduce the Environment Agency’s
own carbon footprint by over 30 per cent.
The plan is the organisation’s commitment
to protect and improve the environment for
communities across England and Wales, and
sets out how it will play its part in tackling
the threat of climate change.
The government’s environmental
watchdog today also highlighted numerous
environmental improvements across England
and Wales in the past decade, in a detailed
analysis of the current state of the environment:
The amount of waste
produced by companies regulated by the Environment
Agency has reduced by 14 per cent since
2005
156,000 properties have been protected against
flood since 2004
Emissions of sulphur oxides (which cause
health problems and acid rain) have reduced
by 76 per cent and particulate emissions
(which cause health problems) have reduced
by 37 per cent since 1998
Otters and salmon have returned to many
rivers for first time for over 100 years,
thanks in part to a halving of serious pollution
incidents since 2000.
Speaking at the conference, Dr Paul Leinster
said: “We have delivered significant achievements
over the past five years. Less waste is
going to landfill, more properties are protected
against flooding, pollution incidents have
halved since 2000, and there are more fish
and wildlife in lakes and rivers.
“However, climate change
is already affecting the UK and the challenges
we face as a result are only going to get
tougher and more properties could be at
increased flood risk. We expect the country’s
population to grow by 16 million by 2050,
adding further pressure on limited water
supplies and waste treatment facilities.
“Our new plans set out
our approach to protect more people from
flooding, clean up their local rivers, and
help businesses reduce the resources they
use. We all have our part to play to help
protect the environment for future generations.”
In its detailed analysis
of the state of the environment to support
its new strategy, the Environment Agency
also revealed that the number of properties
in England and Wales at the highest risk
of flooding could increase by over 60 per
cent from 560,000 today to over 900,000
by 2035 if investment in flood defences
does not increase annually. Over the next
five years, the Environment Agency has pledged
to build new and maintain existing defences,
continue to restrict development in flood
plains and create new wetlands and coastal
habitats to prevent flooding.
More than 330 million
tonnes of waste is currently produced by
the UK each year and more than half comes
from businesses and the construction sector.
The Environment Agency estimates that UK
companies could save up to £1 billion,
divert 17 million tonnes of waste from landfill,
save 14 million tonnes of raw material and
avoid greenhouse gas emissions equivalent
to two million tonnes of carbon dioxide
over the next decade.
New figures from the
Environment Agency show that the number
of cases of serious pollution in England
and Wales dropped 13 per cent from 827 in
2007 to 723 in 2008 – down 44 per cent from
1,854 major incidents recorded in 2001.
Incidents of serious pollution are now at
their lowest for seven years.
Last year, almost 97
per cent of bathing waters in England and
Wales passed quality standards, compared
to just three-quarters in 11000. The government’s
environmental watchdog is also continuing
its efforts to improve bathing water, rivers,
lakes and groundwater to meet challenging
EU standards for water quality.
The Environment Agency
is also continuing to reduce its own carbon
footprint. It has already reduced staff
mileage by 8.9 million miles in the two
years to March 2008. The organisation is
also aiming to install approximately 80
wind turbines on its land, saving around
224,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide per year,
generating enough energy to power around
88,000 homes, in addition to providing income
to the taxpayer.
Ends
Media enquiries: Jason Wakeford or Nathan
Fletcher – 020 7863 8710, or outside normal
office hours, please contact the National
Duty Press Officer on 07798 882 092.
You can see the corporate
strategy via the following link:
http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/aboutus/112323.aspx
