Government funds aid Looe’s flooding defences

APLAN to protect one of the most flood-prone coastal towns in Cornwall for the next 100 years is a step closer to becoming a reality.

According to the Cornwall Development Company, almost two in three businesses in Looe are regularly flooded, with flooding costing the local economy £39 million between 2012 and 2017.

Climate scientists predict that, with sea levels rising in the coming decades, most of the town will end up in a flood zone. If their predictions are correct, the flooding area could increase six fold from 2.5 hectares to 16 hectares, meaning more homes and more businesses in Looe could find themselves underwater on storm and high water days.

This increased flood prone area could see the local GP surgery, police station, main food stores and cafés, as well as the fish market and potentially the fire station, at risk of flooding. The extended flood zone would also include key transport links such as the A387, and the town’s railway station.

Now plans to create a flood defence barrier which could alleviate some of the problems have been bolstered by a £2.3 million grant from Defra. If all goes well, work on the scheme could start in 2025.

The Defra Flood Defence Grantin-Aid grant will enable Cornwall Council and its key partners to complete work on preparing the outline business case – the next key stage in securing the Government, and other sources of funding, needed to deliver the scheme. It comes as tourism is worth around £47.8 million to the local economy, directly supporting more than 1,100 jobs in Looe and indirectly supporting a further 400 jobs. An increase in the risk of flooding could deter people from visiting the town and have an adverse impact on holiday parks, communities and businesses right across South-East Cornwall.

Martyn Alvey, Cornwall Council’s portfolio holder for environment and climate change, said: “Looe is the most frequently flooded place in the country, so successfully delivering this long-awaited and muchneeded scheme is vital for the longterm future of the town and the wider economy of South-East Cornwall.

“We need to ensure that the final scheme meets the needs of Looe, both now, and in the future. This means that, as well as providing structural flood defences to protect the town from flooding in the short to medium term, we support the community to develop a plan which identifies measures which go well beyond 100 years. This will give the community time to adapt so it can live with the consequences of increased flood risk in the future.”

He added: “During the summer we submitted the initial stage of the scheme to the Environment Agency for consideration. The funding announced by the EA will enable us to complete the second stage of the project to submit to the Government next winter. This is a hugely significant step both for the project and the town as, without Government support and funding, it will not be possible to deliver this scheme.”

David Bond, chairman of Looe Harbour Commissioners, said: “Looe Harbour Commissioners are delighted to hear that the funding from the Environment Agency for the next stage of planning for the Looe Defence Scheme has been secured.”