Reforming our approach to floods funding

Overview

6.3 million homes and businesses in England are at risk from flooding. With climate change, the total number of properties at risk from flooding could increase to 8 million by the middle of the century – or around one in four properties. Around 3,500 properties are at risk of being lost to coastal erosion by 2055.

We have a bold strategic vision for the future to transform our approach to investing in resilience to flood and coastal erosion. The objectives of the new investment framework are for it to be simple, flexible, and strategic to deliver timely interventions and build national resilience.

This consultation is asking for feedback on two main proposals:

• The first is on our proposed simplified approach to funding new flood resilience projects
• The second is on our proposed approach to prioritise flood resilience projects

The consultation also includes a call for evidence on two wider floods investment areas - seeking views on alternative sources of funding to enable government funding to go further as well as exploring opportunities for English devolution to support flood risk management.

Why your views matter

We are consulting on a new approach to funding flood and coastal erosion projects, specifically how we can simplify our approach, speed up delivery, and respond to the changing nature of risk. The new approach will be launched in time for the start of our new flood investment programme in April 2026.

Within this consultation document there is also a call for evidence on how we can effectively find alternative sources of funding for flood and coastal erosion projects to achieve better outcomes for more stakeholders and opportunities for English devolution to support flood risk management in England. These are longer-term considerations and will not come into effect alongside the funding reforms.