Government has pledged £61M to help rebuild roads and railways damaged by flooding. English local authorities will receive £30M for highway maintenance including pothole repair and 10 rail projects in the South West will share £31M to improve resilience to future floods.

Monies announced last week are on top of a £3.5M flood recovery package for transport schemes announced on 17 January.

Government has also launched a new annual resilience review to consider the local, regional and national responses to extreme weather and to make recommendations.

As part of this the Transport Secretary will review the resilience of the transport network to extreme weather events, building on the work of the Quarmby Review in response to cold weather.

CIHT chief executive Sue Percy welcomed the reviews. “Current long term predictions indicate that these extreme weather variations will continue,” she said. “Situations such as the current flood events, and disruption caused, underline how adequate maintenance and funding of the network must be a fundamental part of UK transport policy.”

Last week the Government also set up a new Cabinet Committee on Flooding to coordinate long term plans on flood recovery and resilience. The committee will meet every month until further notice.

And the Communities Secretary Eric Pickles will undertake a review of the Bellwin scheme to consider whether compensation arrangements are fit for purpose. Bellwin provides emergency financial assistance to local authorities during exceptional circumstances.

(Photo: Alvey & Towers)

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