MP presents £500m Severn flood plan to chancellor

The plan would be aimed at reducing frequent flood damage along the route of the Severn, which includes these houses in Shrewsbury

An MP has presented the Chancellor with a £500m flood prevention plan, which he said would "finally tame" the River Severn.

Daniel Kawczynski chairs a group of MPs whose constituencies lie near the river and its tributaries.

He said a "holistic" approach was needed to tackle flooding in mid-Wales, Shropshire, Worcestershire, Gloucestershire and neighbouring areas in the Severn catchment.

The Conservative member for Shrewsbury claimed the investment requested in the business case would be returned many times over to the Treasury through higher tax receipts and a stronger economy.

Communities at various points along the river have found their homes and businesses blighted by flood water several times in recent years after downpours.

The Environment Agency (EA) described the plan's whole-catchment approach as "innovative and aspirational".

The EA said such an approach would yield "sustainable solutions that deliver multiple benefits" for landowners, communities and businesses.

Measures could include flood walls and embankments, but also natural interventions that slow the flow of water upstream such as tree planting or the creation of "leaky dams".

The EA also cites alternative farming and land management practices and changes to the way reservoirs are managed.

After the meeting with Mr Hunt, Mr Kawczynski said he accepted "the chancellor is under a lot of pressure" and that £500m was a lot of money.

But he said the business case he presented could demonstrate "the economic uplift to the West Midlands will be will be over £100bn, if we can prevent vast tracts of the industrial heartland of the UK from being flooded on an annual basis".

Daniel Kawczynski chairs a group of MPs from across the Severn catchment

Mr Kawczynski said flooding was a "monumental" problem which was costly for local authorities and he added: "I suspect that with climate change the flooding will be even more intense and regular."

He said he had promised his electorate a solution to the problem and suggested Mr Hunt would find funding the project a popular one in the run-up to a general election.

The Shrewsbury MP said he hoped to hear a response from the chancellor in the spring budget.

In the Commons in October, Mr Kawczynski said the Severn Valley Partnership proposals were "trying to find a holistic solution to the problems of managing Britain’s longest river, rather than just creating flood barriers which push the problem downstream".

He asked when funds would be made available to support "landowners and others who can be part of the solution".

At the time, minister Rebecca Pow replied they could apply for funding such as a £25m pot for natural flood management schemes.