David Cameron’s promise of extra funding for Storm Eva repairs met with cross-party criticism as Met Office issues further weather warnings

This article is more than 4 years old

This article is more than 4 years old

A pledge of £40m by David Cameron to repair and improve flood defences has failed to stem criticism of the government as parts of the UK braced themselves for more misery.



The extra funding, described by the prime minister as vital, relates to Storm Eva, which battered northern England, including Cumbria and Yorkshire on Boxing Day.

About a quarter of the cash will go to improving the Foss barrier, which protects York but was overwhelmed during the storm, leading to the evacuation of hundreds of people.



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The other £30m will be spent repairing defences on the Wharfe, Calder, Aire, Ouse and Derwent, including repairs to pumping and barriers and clearing blockages in rivers.

But questions were raised about whether the money was new and how far it would go. Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron, whose Westmorland and Lonsdale constituency was hit by flooding, described it as a “small down-payment” compared with the £500m bill faced in Cumbria, while the shadow environment secretary, Kerry McCarthy, labelled it “a short-term, sticking-plaster approach”.

The announcement came as the threat of flooding continued to loom. There were no severe flood warnings in place on Sunday, indicating danger to life, but there were almost 20 flood warnings in place in England and Wales and more than 20 in force in Scotland.



The Met Office issued amber “be prepared” warnings for much of north-east and central Scotland, still recovering from Storm Frank, forecasting more heavy rain of up to 15cm on higher ground on Sunday and Monday. “Given the saturated nature of the ground, there is a greater risk of surface water and river flooding than might normally be expected,” a spokesman said.

Yellow “be aware warnings” were in place in parts of England with the Met Office warning of the possibility of localised flooding in Northumberland and surface water flooding in south-west England and Wales.

Communities affected by previous flooding continue to count the cost of the damage wreaked. Residents of the West Yorkshire town of Elland, near Halifax, were told that its flood-damaged bridge was beyond repair and would not be replaced for a least a year.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest A car drives through flood water on the A93 north of Blairgowrie in Scotland, as more flooding is expected. Photograph: Danny Lawson/PA

Huge cracks appeared in the stonework of the crossing, which was closed last week, and dips developed in the carriageway as unprecedented flooding lifted canal boats on to dry land and sank other vessels.

It is one of a number of bridges to have been damaged by the flooding, including the dramatic partial collapse of the bridge in Tadcaster, 35 miles away, raising concerns about the impact on infrastructure in northern England. No timescale has been given for the restoration of the Tadcaster crossing, which has split the community in two.

The government said the extra cash took investment in recovery from Storm Eva and Storm Desmond to nearly £200m. It pledged to support charities helping those caught up in Storm Eva by matching every pound of the first £2m raised, mirroring that made to made to community foundations in Cumbria and Lancashire in the aftermath of Storm Desmond.

Farron said: “Time and time again, David Cameron offers warm words and a little bit of funding for a short-term fix.



“This money wouldn’t be needed now if he had followed through with so many previous commitments to truly protect homes threatened with flooding.”

Green party leader, Natalie Bennett, said Cameron had “utterly failed” over flood defences and water management schemes, while the Friends of the Earth spokesman, Guy Shrubsole, said the government was “behind the game on flood defence spending”.

Labour said flood defence spending had been cut every year since 2010, with the exception of 2013-14 - after the Somerset floods - and more cuts were coming this year.

The criticism followed revelations in the Observer that ministers were told in a document presented to them in November – days before Cumbria was inundated – that spending cuts could leave 240,000 extra households facing a “significant risk” of flood damage within 20 years.

The paper drawn up by the Association of Drainage Authorities (ADA) said: “We have had the five wettest years since 2000. The Environment Agency’s funding for maintaining flood assets has fallen by 14%. Downward adjustments have also been made to intended revenue spending commitments.”

It warns that “failure of assets and networks is more likely as extreme weather events become more frequent and unpredictable” and recommends a change in approach to a more long-term strategy.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) responded by arguing that the document was outdated because the flood defence budget had been increased in the autumn statement.



A spokeswoman said: “These claims are simply not true. This document was written before last autumn’s spending review, in which we increased flood defence spending to £2.3bn by 2021.”