Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what the Government's timeframe is for (a) consulting on and (b) confirming plans to spend recent allocations of flood defence funds in Blackpool South.
The Environment Agency is currently working with Blackpool Council (the respective Coast Protection Authority) to progress three coastal schemes on its coastal frontage. Consultation has already commenced on the two Bispham schemes and a second consultation event will take place in early 2022.
The sea bees re-profiling work at South Shore has an allocation of £7 million and is programmed to commence 2024/25 through to 2026/27. Initial work on this has not commenced yet. (Sea bees are hexagonal concrete revetments designed to dissipate the energy of the waves.)
The Environment Agency works closely with Local Authorities, Risk Management Authorities (RMAs) and Lead Local Flood Authorities (LLFAs) to ensure that all projects are well represented within the capital programme.