Funding to make properties safe from flooding
Devon County Council is offering a funding opportunity that may be of interest to residents whose properties are affected by flooding.
At the Cabinet meeting held on 8th March 2017 an item under the Flood Risk Action Plan for 2017/18 highlighted the initiative to introduce a Property Level Resilience (PLR) Grant Scheme. This will give vulnerable property owners the opportunity to apply for a grant of up to £5,000 to make their properties more resilient against the risk of flooding. The scheme, which will have a limited annual budget, is broadly based on previous opportunities and pilots released by the government and will follow a strict prioritisation criteria to ensure those in greatest need will be successful in securing the grant.
Through Defra’s 6 Year programme (2015-2021) Devon County Council has an allocation of £50,000 each year for the next 4 years to support this scheme and propose to match this figure from the annual Flood Risk Management budget, subject to availability, and further supported with a £10,000 allocation from Local Levy. The average cost of providing PLR to a single property is approx. £5,000, therefore it is anticipated that around 20-25 properties could benefit from this scheme each year. With over 1500 properties having suffered internal flooding in recent years there is the need to target properties at high risk, where they are unlikely to benefit from any catchment or community wide flood improvement scheme in the near future. Funding will be allocated in accordance with the strict prioritisation criteria set out in the Policy for PLR Grant and not on a first come first served basis. There can therefore be no guarantee of funding for every applicant.
For the opportunity to be considered for a PLR grant the property owner must first review the policy and if they believe that they meet the criteria they need to complete the Application for PLR Grant. These can both be provided in paper format for those that do not have access to the internet, by telephoning Flood Risk on 01392 383000.
Seaton & Colyton MATTERS 