Flood Protection Scheme

Lots of rumours going around about the timetable for the Environment Agency's Flood Alleviation (Protection & Prevention) Scheme for Morpeth. The version I've heard is:

• consultation on options for scheme: March - June '09
• early summer - decision on preferred option and design work carried out
• construction work to start in early 2011, depending on the scheme design - and it will take about two years to complete
• Cost will be £10-15M out of a total £600M national pot - and the money has been earmarked for Morpeth

Incidentally - the EA flood defence work was delayed nationally because the Government cut the funding. They cut the funding because DEFRA (under which the EA comes) was fined by the EU. DEFRA was fined because of delays in making Single Farm Payments to hard-up farmers. The delays were caused by Government trying to introduce the new single payment scheme in one year instead of five years (as happened in most European countries).