Environment Agency slams ‘untrue’ claims it’s pulling £50m scheme to protect thousands of homes from flooding

The Environment Agency has slammed “untrue” claims that it has pulled a £50 million scheme to protect thousands of homes in England from flooding by the autumn.

It comes after the government department sent an email to companies who have put together bids to provide homes with defences saying it has “decided to discontinue the current procurement of a new property flood resilience (PFR) framework that was commenced earlier this year.”

The email added: “We have written directly to the suppliers who have submitted bids to advise them of this decision and the grounds for this decision.”

Businesses that put together bids to provide homes with flood defences such as flood doors, non-return valves and waterproof floors were left “reeling with shock and disbelief” over the decision.

Simon Crowther, who runs one of the companies that bid for the work, told the Guardian his company had spent tens of thousands of pounds over the past six weeks preparing its bid. He claimed the agency had made the submission process too complicated and costly, which has put people off bidding.

The project was reportedly pulled as the Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management (CIWEM) revealed only a third of local authorities had enough staff to manage flash flood risks.

CIWEM said surface water management in England is not consistently co-ordinated or funded to manage future flood risks despite more than five million households reported to be at risk from this type of flooding.

Mr Crowther said the actions of the EA will “delay the protection of thousands of homes”, as flood defences could have been in place by the autumn.

While Councillor Linda Taylor, environment spokesperson for the Local Government Association said it is “disappointing to see flood prevention schemes not moving forward.”

She added: "Devolving the money to local areas could help target the money to where it is most needed, and councils would be pleased to work with the Environment Agency to find the best use of this fund.

"A local approach to flood prevention works best, as councils understand the area, the communities, they are a trusted voice and they know what approaches work and don’t work in their community."

But the EA has slammed claims its £50m flood defence project is being pulled as “untrue”. It said it still intends to go ahead with the scheme and it will be in touch with those interested “as soon as possible”.

The agency added that it will be setting out a new framework by the end of the year to encourage more bidders to bid.

A spokesperson told NationalWorld: “Not only is the Environment Agency continuing to work with partners to promote and deliver Property Flood Resilience solutions for many communities, we are also currently developing a new framework for suppliers which we aim to have awarded by the end of this year.

“As part of that process, we are focused on options to encourage more suppliers to submit bids, to drive competition and maximise value for money for the public.”