Ministers have been told they will be “punished” by voters after analysis revealed the decline of vital flood defences across England.
According to reports, the proportion of critical assets in disrepair has almost trebled in the West Midlands and the east of England since 2018, leaving thousands of homes and businesses more vulnerable to storms. Critical assets are defined as those where there is a high risk to life and property if they fail.
The east of England, which spans the Conservative heartlands from Suffolk to Bedfordshire and Essex, has one of the highest proportion of rundown flood defences in England, with nearly one in 11 – more than 850 assets – considered “poor” or “very poor” by Environment Agency inspectors.
Steve Reed, who is the shadow environment secretary, said: “The Conservatives’ sticking-plaster approach to flooding has left communities devastated and cost the economy billions of pounds.”
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Using Environment Agency data obtained by Greenpeace’s investigative arm, Unearthed, the Guardian tracked the state of England’s vital flood defences from 2018 to 2022. The analysis also revealed a sharp rise in the proportion of critical assets in disrepair across many parts of the country.
In the east Midlands, which was deluged by Storm Babet in October, the proportion of flood defences in the worst conditions has almost doubled in the last five years. Together with the east of England, the north-west has the highest rate of flood defences so damaged they are almost useless, with one in 11 defences considered in disrepair in 2022 – more than 815 – up from one in 16 in 2018.
In the West Midlands, the rate of ruined assets has risen from one in 44 in 2018 to one in 14 last year.
The number of damaged flood defences has increased across all regions in the last five years. However, the analysis examined the proportion of flood defences in disrepair rather than the number because thousands more assets have been built since 2018.
In their reactions, experts said that the picture of disrepair was likely to worsen after higher costs and budget shortfalls forced the Environment Agency to axe a quarter of its new flood defence projects.
Story was adapted from the Guardian.
