Framlingham in line for share of £1.5 million flooding relief fund

Suffolk leaders are being asked to commit £1.5 million to help communities protect themselves against future flooding.

Members of the county council’s cabinet are due to meet on Tuesday to discuss investing some of the authority’s reserves to help mitigate the effects of flooding across the worst-hit communities, including Framlingham and Debenham.

In October, thousands of people across the county suffered the effects of Storm Babet, which saw more than a month’s worth of rainfall in just 24 hours and lead to the worst flooding event in over 50 years.

Across the county, more than 900 properties were initially reported to have flooded internally, although the council believes it is likely a lot more were impacted but not reported.

With first reports now being completed, the council is proposing to use £1.5 million from its reserves to launch some of the short-term solutions.

Where five or more properties are flooded in a specific location, the council has a responsibility to investigate how to mitigate future flood risk – over 100 of these investigations spawned from Storm Babet, compared to three or four yearly, covering 48 locations.

These include the implementation of community flood plans, maximising grants, removing blockages within watercourses and improving drainage infrastructure.

If approved, the work will be developed and delivered through this year and into 2026.

Some of the money will be used to develop longer-term schemes which will benefit from future, external grant funding bids and partnerships with communities and landowners.