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Council could pick up £2.7m bill for flood project

Joao Santos
Local Democracy Reporting Service
Richard Daniel/BBC A general view of the Benacre sluice. A large green field can be seen with a river running through the middle of it. A pylon can be seen in the distance as well as two wind turbines.Richard Daniel/BBC
Work has already happened at the Benacre sluice to improve flood defences in the area

An authority is due to be asked to pick up a multi-million bill on a major flood protection project to safeguard a key road.

Paul West, Suffolk County Council's lead for highways and flooding, will ask cabinet members to allocate an extra £2.7m from reserves toward the Benacre Flood Risk Management Project during Tuesday's meeting.

The project is for the construction of two new pumping stations, drains and embankments between the A12 and the coast as well as the creation of 82 hectares of intertidal mud flats and salt marsh.

The council already agreed a £2m contribution toward the £59.1m project funded by the government and Sizewell C - but the money would bridge a gap in the final costings.

The project would protect the A12 against a one-in-200 years tidal flooding event, for the next 50 years.

Currently, the key road is protected by a pumping station on an eroding coast expected to breach within one to two years.

The government has funded £32.1m toward the project while Sizewell C has funded £25m, reports the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

However, in December the final price was calculated at an extra £5m - after all cost-cutting and alternative funding streams were exhausted, the council report said, and a £2.7m gap was left.

Sizewell C/Google An aerial image detailing flood work proposed along the Suffolk coast, with text boxes pointing at various parts of the countryside. Work includes a new pump station and embankment built around Kessingland.Sizewell C/Google
Sizewell C has detailed some of the flood work that will be undertaken, about 15 miles north of its site at Kessingland

The project was being promoted and constructed by the Waveney, Lower Yare and Lothingland Internal Drainage Board (IDB) and maintained by the Environment Agency alongside the landowner.

A council report stated that approving the money was vital, so the IDB can sign the main construction contract at the beginning of next month.

The money would only be used to offset any risks which materialised by the time of the project's due date, in March 2029, during which time the authority would continue to look for other funding.

Doing nothing, the council said, could result in a £235m loss over the next 50 years and compromise not only the A12, but also 200 domestic and commercial properties, and 450 hectares of farmland.

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