Taxpayers may pay extra for flood safety as funds slashed | Politics | News | EUROtoday

Taxpayers might be compelled to pay extra to cowl prices of flood safety, councillors have warned.

The Environment Agency will finish its funding for the upkeep of some areas’ flood defences in April.

But the District Councils’ Network (DCN) warned this can pressure councils to select up the tab for work to maintain river programs free from obstruction.

It stated floods may hit smaller villages, make roads impassable, devastate native economies, affect agriculture and injury the native atmosphere until native taxpayers fund the work.

Councillor Paul Redgate, chair of the Internal Drainage Boards Interest Group, stated: “The withdrawal of funding for so many stretches of river amounts to cost-shunting from central government to already squeezed local taxpayers.

“If you are unfortunate enough to live in an area susceptible to floods you already face higher council tax and insurance bills – and Environment Agency cuts are going to hit you even harder. They’ll increase the likelihood of maximum council tax rises and force councils to shift spending away from other essential local services.

“Just to reassure everyone in our local community, we know how devastating flooding can be and, along with our partners, we will always seek to best protect communities, but this will mean less money available for other essential local services.

“We urge the Government to step in and provide extra funding for communities which, through no fault of their own, face growing risk of floods. The alternative could be catastrophic flooding and economic devastation. It’s a matter of fairness and common sense.”

Flood safety is completed by England’s 112 inside drainage boards (IDBs) that are funded by way of levies on council tax payers and on the homeowners of property together with agricultural land.

Special levies paid by native taxpayers to IDBs have risen by 32% to £52.4million every year within the 4 years to 2025-26.

The DCN stated that though the Government has supplied £5 million to the councils most impacted for the present monetary 12 months, that is “insufficient” to maintain up with rising prices and councils say the sum must be considerably elevated.

The Environment Agency has been contacted for remark.