Firm aims to reduce river flooding risks

Companies alongside the Plym will be invited to take part in the scheme

A city council has joined forces with an investment firm to increase spending on reducing flooding.

Rebalance Earth said it would fund improvements on the River Plym, while working alongside Plymouth City Council to identify problem areas.

In return Rebalance Earth makes a return on its investments through deals with companies which benefit from the reduced risk and costs of flooding.

Councillor Tom Briars-Delve, cabinet member for the environment and climate change, said getting outside investment was key to "improving, maintaining and optimising our cherished green and blue spaces".

"We fix the river to reduce the risk of flooding," Walid Al Saqqaf, co-founder of Rebalance Earth, said.

Rebalance Earth would make companies more resilient to climate change, he said.

The firm would be investing in "nature-based solutions" rather than large-scale infrastructure to reduce flooding risks.

"People have been making money for years out of extraction from nature but we are proving that by putting money into nature we can make a profit," he said.