Buckinghamshire Council has secured £265,000 from the Environment Agency to deliver two flood management feasibility studies and a natural flood management project running until 2027/28. These projects will complement the £10.5m already allocated to the council’s flood capital programme and will aim to manage surface water before it reaches the county's towns and villages.

One of the projects will explore the viability of Property Flood Resilience measures to protect homes and other properties which have suffered from frequent internal flooding in recent years.

Other projects will explore ways to use natural landscapes to help reduce and manage the speed and peak of surface water flows within a catchment, before they arrive in our towns and villages. The new natural flood management study will involve working with parish councils and partners in the north of the county along the River Great Ouse upstream of Milton Keynes.

As part of a larger initiative, the Blue Lagoon Natural Flood Management project will introduce measures such as tree-hinging dams and leaky woody dams in partnership with Milton Keynes City Council. These will help reduce flood risk to the new East West Rail line, while also restoring natural landscapes lost to recent human activities.

Carl Jackson, Buckinghamshire Council’s Cabinet Member for Environment, Climate Change & Waste, said:

“This new funding from the Environment Agency will enhance Buckinghamshire Council’s ongoing efforts to protect local homes, businesses and infrastructure from flooding, as well as providing opportunities to enhance our natural environment for the long term.”

To find out more about the council’s capital flood programme, please visit: Flood management projects | Buckinghamshire Council