Here, in Torridge, in recent years we have seen the baleful effects of flooding in our communities such as Westward Ho! and Taddiport.

As I have worked with affected householders and businesses to find solutions with the statutory agencies and others, it has become clear that better flood defences will be increasingly important, and that technology will play a vital part in keeping our homes and communities safe from the threat of flooding.

Now, as part of the Government’s Flood and Coastal Resilience Innovation Programme, 25 community-led projects will receive a share of £150 million from Defra (the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs).

These schemes, selected from a wide range of proposals, will aim to test a wide range of high-tech, locally developed responses to bolster coastal resilience and flood defence. These vary from an automated phone application which can warn of flooding, to permeable road surfaces which can assist with drainage, to new technology which can monitor rising groundwater levels and issue a warning in the event of groundwater flooding.

I am pleased that Defra has decided to harness the ingenuity of local businesses and local authorities in this way, and it is encouraging that the Government has announced its plans to invest a record £5.2 billion in coastal flood defences over the next six years.

Here in Devon, a newly announced project is taking a ‘catchment-wide’ approach to defend against localised flooding. The venture will seek to implement sustainable, nature-based solutions and drainage systems to help better protect local communities from the threat of surface water flooding. It already has the backing of Dartmoor and Exmoor National Parks and will, I hope, provide increased resilience against flooding at no cost to local ecosystems. Every year, hundreds of properties in our county are subjected to flooding, causing substantial damage and distress. I hope these innovative projects are able to make good use of Government investment and that we shall see in our own communities, including in Westward Ho! the benefits of the renewed Government commitment to protecting our coastal towns and villages.

If you would like to learn more about what is being done in Devon to build sustainable resilience against flooding, you can read Devon County Council’s Local Flood Risk Management Strategy 2021-2027 here: https://www.devon.gov.uk/floodriskmanagement/document/devon-local-flood-risk-management-strategy-2021-2027/