New actions to boost flood resilience

Opening in 2027, the £5m Community Flood Resilience Fund is a key element of the additional £15m investment in flood prevention set out in the recent Programme for Government (PfG).

The fund will allocate £1m directly to community applications and £4m to local authorities applying with communities to deliver local flood resilience measures.

This investment will empower local people and organisations to play a leading role in reducing flood risk and improving preparedness in their communities for any future flooding events.

A further £2.5m from the £15m total announced in the PfG will be available to local authorities to future-proof public assets and resilience infrastructure, making the most of the flood protection already in place. Another £3m will target local authority projects that use nature to support flooding solutions, such as managing rainfall and water-flow through planting design.

Innovative coastal projects to replenish sand dunes and reduce flood risk will receive up to £1m, and £500,000 will be made available to help communities recovering from recent flooding.

Details of the funding are set out in the Flood Resilience Strategy Implementation Plan, outlining 65 actions organisations across Scotland will take over the next four years to improve Scotland’s flood resilience. The Implementation of the Flood Risk Management Act Report 2021 -2025 is also published and sets out the steps taken since 2021.

Climate action and rural affairs secretary Gillian Martin said: “Flood resilience is about more than managing water. It is about how we plan our towns and cities, protect vital infrastructure, manage land, and support our communities to adapt. From strategy to the implementation plan published today, we are setting out how we will protect people and places across the country from the increased flood risk as a result of climate change over the next four years.

“Since 2016, the Scottish Government has invested £612m to support local authority flood risk management, helping to deliver 21 flood protection schemes, with four further projects under construction, two under contract, and three progressing through development.

“In addition to these significant investments we have a strong track record on working with nature to strengthen our resilience to a changing climate through restoring our rivers and peatlands, planting more trees and wider nature-based solutions. By working with communities and councils across Scotland we will protect more people from the devastation, stress and disruption flooding causes.”