A new £50 million government investment will help Somerset’s homes, farms and businesses better withstand the growing threat of flooding, the Government has announced today (Tuesday 9 June 2026).
Earlier this year, the county experienced its second wettest January on record, with more than double the average rainfall. As flooding continued into February, Somerset Council was forced to declare a major incident. Despite the exceptional scale of the crisis, existing defences, deployed pumps and Environment Agency teams working around the clock meant 2,860 properties were protected from flooding.
This £50 million investment will build on that work, by funding a range of flood resilience measures, such as improved water management infrastructure, enhanced flood defence schemes, nature-based solutions and better watercourse maintenance to reduce the burden on emergency responders and help communities withstand future incidents.
Somerset is also one of England’s most important agricultural counties, and repeated flooding threatens the viability of farming communities across the region. By helping farms better withstand extreme weather, the investment will protect rural livelihoods and help prevent the rising food costs that flooding can cause throughout the supply chain.
Floods Minister Emma Hardy said
Somerset has faced the full force of extreme weather this year, which I saw when I visited earlier this year.
The communities here deserve more than a temporary fix which is why this government is investing.
This £50 million funding in the protection of homes, farms and livelihoods in Somerset for years to come.
Councillor Bill Revans, Leader of Somerset Council, said
We’d like to thank the Minister for visiting Somerset during the major incident and meeting with the Council, our partners and residents.
We are pleased the Government has listened to our calls for urgent action and welcome this vital investment into the future of Somerset.
This winter has shown how Somerset’s unique environment is particularly susceptible to the impacts of climate change and it is clear we must help our communities to adapt and become more resilient.
We will work closely with partners, including the Environment Agency, Somerset Rivers Authority, Internal Drainage Boards, Natural England and, most importantly, our local communities, to ensure these funds are invested wisely to provide lasting benefits for years to come.
New and improved defences in Somerset have come online throughout the last two years, helping to better protect 4,916 properties, restore pride in our towns and defend valuable farmland from being regularly flooded.
This investment sits alongside the government’s wider £10.5 billion flood resilience programme – the largest ever – which will run until 2036, delivering new flood defences and restoring existing ones across England.
Additionally, the Environment Agency has launched a new National Flood Forecasting and Warning Service today. The 170-strong team brings together flood forecasting, modelling, and warning functions into a single, unified national operation, to deliver a faster, more consistent response to flooding events.
The Environment Agency has also confirmed it has exceeded targets for maintaining vital flood infrastructure, with 93% of flood defences now meeting their required standard against a target of 92%. This follows a £72 million reprioritisation in 2025 to repair and restore critical flood assets across England.
This builds on the progress announced in April, when the completion of 250 projects since 2024, meant that almost 62,000 properties across the country have been better protected from flooding – beating the Environment Agency’s target by nearly 10,000.
The government will also raise its ambition on maintaining flood defences. The target for keeping the most critical flood assets, those protecting the largest numbers of homes and businesses, in good working condition will increase from 92% to 93.5% in 2026/27.
Environment Agency Chief Executive, Philip Duffy said
The Environment Agency is working year-round to keep homes and businesses safe from flooding.
As extreme weather becomes more frequent, we need to adjust how we deliver flood schemes and improve how we warn people of impending flood risks. Our new National
Flood Forecasting and Warning Service is key to this.
I’m proud that we’ve exceeded our targets, maintaining 93% of flood defences at required standard and delivering better protection for over 60,000 properties across England in the last two years.
