River Medway FSAs Project

The River Medway Flood Storage Areas (FSAs) project is being delivered by the Environment Agency in partnership with Kent County Council (KCC), Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council (TMBC) and Maidstone Borough Council (MBC) to develop options to reduce the risk of flooding to communities.

The costs of the options of the Middle Medway Strategy are currently estimated to be £34 million. In the 2014 Autumn Statement the government committed approximately 50 percent of these costs, subject to a viable business case.

However the remaining costs must be found before the Agency can construct the scheme. Following the Christmas floods, Kent County Council (KCC) agreed to find 50 percent of the costs. KCC is currently exploring ways to raise this funding.

Although the Middle Medway Strategy recommended increasing the flood storage at Leigh FSA and further flood storage on the River Beult, the Environment Agency together with its partners is considering a wide range of options to ensure they identify the best solution for these areas.

In order to secure the government’s funding contribution to construct a scheme a business case must be prepared that demonstrates the reduction in flood risk that it will provide, how the defenses could be constructed and how to make best use of public money.

The business case will be considered by Defra in 2018. Once the business case is approved, the Environment Agency and its partners will move to the detailed design phase in 2018 to 2019.