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Flood and Coastal Resilience Innovation Programme (FCRIP)

The Flood and Coastal Resilience Innovation Programme (FCRIP) is part of the government’s National Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk Management Strategy for England. The programme is made up of 25 projects which will address current and future flood risks, from the sea, rivers, groundwater and surface water. The strategy’s vision is for England to be a nation ready for, and resilient to, flooding and coastal change – today, tomorrow and to the year 2100.

The programme aims to:

  • encourage local authorities, businesses and communities to test and demonstrate innovative practical resilience actions in their areas,
  • improve the resilience of 25 local areas, reducing the costs of future damage and disruption from flooding and coastal erosion,
  • improve evidence on the costs and benefits of the innovative resilience actions and demonstrate how different actions work together across geographical areas,
  • use the evidence and learning developed to inform future approaches to, and investments in, flood and coastal erosion risk management.

There are three projects in the North West that are outlined below:

Cumbria innovation flood resilience (CiFR) – Investigating flood resilience with rural communities

The CiFR programme will be working in four areas that represent the diverse landscapes across Cumbria and the different kinds of flood risk that the communities face. These small, rural communities have suffered repeated flooding in the last two decades, but they aren’t eligible for funding for traditional flood defences, and so the project will need to develop new ways to support, prepare and protect them from flooding. The project will be working with the communities to co-design and deliver an ambitious programme to build environmental and social resilience to flood threats that they face.

CiFR will develop and test a “whole place” approach to flood resilience by piecing together the good practice that already exists in Cumbria around natural flood management, community resilience and blended finance.

The following are involved in this project:

  • Cumbria County Council
  • Natural England
  • Environment Agency
  • Lancaster University
  • Cumbria CVS
  • Cumbria Community Foundation
  • 3Keel

For more information, please click here.

 

 

Our Future Coast (formerly Eco-Cobs)

Working with nature to safeguard coastal communities.

Our Future Coast will test and implement nature-based solutions at 14 sites on the NW Coast. A suite of natural buffer strips will be developed to increase coastal resilience of vulnerable hot-spots in the North West. Natural coastal buffer strips can provide multiple benefits, including reducing flood risk, reducing coastal erosion, increasing biodiversity and water quality, provides carbon capture and other ecosystem services such as recreation and well-being.

Linking together innovative monitoring, community engagement and natural coastal interventions to enhance coastal understanding and resilience, whilst delivering multiple benefits. The project will provide the essential evidence of the benefits of the buffer strips but also to demonstrate the effectiveness and multi beneficial use of bringing together remote monitoring system.

The following are involved in this project:

  • Wyre Council
  • Coastal Protection Authorities: Allerdale, Copeland, South Lakes, Barrow, Lancaster, Wyre, Blackpool, Fylde, West Lancs, Sefton and Wirral
  • Morecambe Bay Partnership
  • Wyre Rivers Trust
  • Lancashire Wildlife Trust
  • National Oceanography Centre
  • Lancaster University
  • Natural England
  • Marine Management Organisation
  • Historic England
  • National Trust
  • Sefton Coast Partnership
  • NW Coastal Forum
  • Eden project
  • RSPB
  • 7 FLAGs and numerous landowners other stakeholders and community forums

Please click here for more information.

 

 

Roch Valley neighbourhood flood and climate resilience programme

The Resilient Roch Project

Delivering holistic neighbourhood-scale climate resilience for communities, with flood risk management at its heart.

This project is being delivered by Rochdale Borough Council who will produce neighbourhood flood and climate resilience plans for two key neighbourhoods in Rochdale borough – Littleborough and Wardleworth. Working with local communities and businesses they will demonstrate, test and pilot approaches to increase flood resilience in terms of people, place, housing stock, environmental infrastructure and the local economy.

They’ll be working closely with local communities to encourage, enable and support participation in water conservation, property flood resilience, green infrastructure management and activities to raise awareness of, improve and celebrate the Roch Valley as an asset for flood risk management and a place for enjoyment, health and well-being.

Measures will include:

  • a housing retrofit programme to embed flood resilience into the Council’s housing improvement programme for better homes and greater climate resilience energy efficiency.
  • working with local businesses to increase their physical and financial resilience.
  • carrying out a suite of environmental works to enhance sustainable drainage and increase the role of nature-based solutions that bring a biodiversity net gain.
  • carrying out a programme of flood literacy and an associated community participation programme to help communities to understand and work with water and take greater ownership of flood risk and how it is managed.
  • working with the insurance sector to identify ways of increasing insurance take up and building financial resilience to the impacts of flooding.

The following are involved in this project:

  • North West Regional Flood and Coastal Committee
  • Rochdale Borough Council
  • Flood Re
  • National Flood Forum

Please click the following links for more information: