Great news as Lowdham is one of 22 shovel-ready schemes nationally to be given money for flood alleviation measures today

Work to start on defences in a flood-hit village can begin virtually immediately after the government offered up £5m.

The scheme to protect Lowdham, which has witnessed severe flooding several times in recent years, is shovel-ready having already been designed.

It would need to be completed either in this financial year or the next.

Most recently, a month’s worth of rain fell across Nottinghamshire on November 14, flooding 12 properties in the village.

Newark MP Robert Jenrick said it was thanks to a great deal of lobbying that the Lowdham scheme was included in a raft of 22 such initiatives it is claimed will drive growth and unlock a range of benefits for local economies at a cost of £170m.

In Lowdham, the storage of water in reservoirs will help to reduce flood risk in a village which has flooded three times in the last 12 months.

“I am over the moon that Lowdham should now get its long awaited flood defence scheme," said Mr Jenrick who is secretary of state for housing, communities and local government.

"I have been involved in this campaign since before I was first elected, but regrettably the village has been campaigned for far longer than that.

"In the latest effort councillor Roger Jackson and I went to see the Environment Secretary, George Eustice earlier this year and when I heard about the shovel ready scheme I spoke with the Floods Minister, Rebecca Pow last week.

"She promised to look into it and I’m delighted it has succeeded.

"The parish council and the whole village has waited a long time for this news.

"I hope it protect many households from the terrible flooding we saw recently, which was devastating for residents and businesses.”

The plan will see the delivery of flood and coastal defences to prevent £32bn in economic damage, the creation of areas to store water during flooding and greater use of nature-based solutions to reduce flood risk.

The plan also sets out proposed changes to the joint government and insurance industry Flood Re scheme. This will allow claims to include an additional amount so that flood resilience measures are included in repairs, and allow households that have property flood resilience measures in place to benefit from lower premiums.

The flood schemes that will receive funding have strong local economic benefits, including better protecting more than 10,000 local businesses and safeguarding around 100,000 jobs.

The measures set out in the new national plan are said to be the most comprehensive in a decade, including investment of £5.2bn to create around 2,000 new flood and coastal defences to better protect 336,000 properties in England by 2027, alongside support to help households and businesses get back on their feet more quickly after flooding.

Environment Secretary George Eustice said: "The devastating impacts of last winter’s flooding were an important reminder of the need to continue to invest and accelerate action to reduce the impact of flooding on our communities.

“Our record investment and ambitious policies will better protect homes, schools, hospitals and businesses, but we also recognise that we cannot prevent flooding entirely, which is why we will ensure that communities at high risk are more resilient.

“Working closely with the Environment Agency, local authorities, business and the third sector we will create a better protected and prepared nation.”

Prime Minister Boris Johnson said: “Last winter I saw for myself the misery and upheaval that flooding can bring to lives and livelihoods and I said we would do more to help people.

“This long-term plan will help push back the flood waters and protect hundreds of thousands of homes, businesses and livelihoods.

“Our record investment will also stimulate economic growth across the UK as we build back better.”

Emma Howard Boyd, chair of the Environment Agency, said: “For every £1 spent improving protection from flooding and coastal erosion, we avoid around £5 of property damages.

"The long-term commitments announced today will make homes, businesses and infrastructure more resilient to the accelerating impacts of the climate crisis.

“Many communities are all too familiar with flooding, and now the risk is increasing for others too. The Environment Agency is champing at the bit to deliver on the Government’s investment with better, and greener, flood schemes. Detail about how we will do this is set out in our strategy.”