£9m investment confirmed for River Witham flood defences this year
Cash boost will upgrade ageing defences - including a 250-year-old sluice - to protect homes and land
Flood defences along the River Witham are set for a major upgrade, with £9 million of government funding confirmed for the year ahead.
The investment will support work between Lincoln and Boston - including improvements to key infrastructure like the Grand Sluice in Boston, which is more than 250 years old.
Morgan Wray, Area Flood and Coastal Risk Manager for Lincolnshire at the Environment Agency, said: “We’ve had it confirmed that we have around £9 million for the coming year to continue to invest in improving flood defences in that area.”
He added that refurbishing the Grand Sluice “helps to protect a considerable number of properties in the Boston area and other low-lying land.”
The funding forms part of a wider £1.4 billion national package for flood defences across England.
Wray said schemes are prioritised to “enable the taxpayer to get the most value for money out of the investment that we make into these communities.”
Other projects set to benefit in Lincolnshire include funding for beach renourishmentalong the east coast, as well as work to develop new defences between Barton-upon-Humber and New Holland.