Storm Babet works in Suffolk continues as investment sought

It comes amid the news that Suffolk County Council will invest another £1.5million to fund repairs, a year on from the torrential downpours the county faced in October last year. 

More than £13.75m has already been spent to help aid recovery. 

Communities were left flooded across the county (Image: Charlotte Bond) Initial flood reports have revealed a further £20million is needed to compete the work, which Suffolk County Council says it cannot afford. 

The council has written to the Flooding Minister, Emma Hardy MP, and demanded the government step up and plug the funding gap. 

The letter from council leader Matthew Hicks says it was the "most widespread flooding event to impact the county for more than 50 years", with more than 900 properties subjected to flooding. 

According to the council, projects which could be delivered with the multi-million pound investment include creating water retention ponds, installing flood doors and non-return valves on drains to stop water entering properties and bolstering Suffolk Highways resources.

Cars were left submerged under water (Image: Danielle Twitchen) Councillor Paul West, cabinet member for operational highways and flooding, said:  “Since Storm Babet, our teams have been working hard to repair the damage it caused, investigate what happened and to help reduce the flood risk in future. This preventative work is complex, costly and requires lots of agencies work together.  

“Despite limited resources and budgetary challenges facing all county councils, we have managed to find extra money to tackle flooding and propose investing a further £1.5 million to deliver work identified in our investigations.

"However, this isn’t enough and - so steep is the challenge facing areas like Suffolk, who were hit hard by Storm Babet - the government must act and provide extra funding.

The council has written to the Government calling for more investment (Image: Charlotte Bond)

"This is why we’ve written to the Flooding Minister asking for additional money. The government needs to step up to the plate and help us ensure Suffolk’s residents don’t face uncertainty when these extreme weather events occur. "

It is estimated that around 50 location-based flood investigation reports are due to be completed, with £1million spent in bringing in additional specialists.

Highways have also received £1.25million in investment. 

A further £10million to address long-term drainage issues was committed in 2021. 

The investment will be agreed by the cabinet on November 5. 

"Our initial assessments suggest that the real cost of this much needed flood prevention could well exceed a further £20m, funding that the County Council simply cannot afford," the letter from councillor Hicks adds.

"While we recognise that the Regional Flood and Coastal Committees oversee existing government funding to support flood risk projects, the majority of the intervention work identified by the County Council’s reports, is unlikely to meet current funding criteria.

"This is due to the dispersed nature of the flooding in a rural county, which affects small numbers of properties in many different locations.

"We therefore call upon Government to recognise the unique circumstances that Suffolk find ourselves in as the worst effected county from Storm Babet and would ask you to support us financially with the required recovery work to protect our residents in future."