14-05-2025
Southampton City Council forced to halt flood defence scheme
A city council has said it has been forced to halt a major flood defence scheme as it faces significant financial City Council said it remained committed to delivering the River Itchen Flood Alleviation Scheme (RIFAS) despite the economic plans cover the west bank of the river and in December the council estimated it could cost £ local authority said the Environment Agency's (EA) decision to withdraw funding for the project in March, cost increases, design changes and rising inflation rates meant costs for the scheme had almost doubled.
The council said more than 150 homes and 250 businesses were currently at risk of have been progressing to reduce the risk over a 2.2-mile (3.5km) stretch along the west bank of the project would stretch from Mount Pleasant Industrial Estate in the north, down to Southampton Water Activities Centre to the south of Itchen EA and Southampton City Council partnered for the RIFAS in 2019, but the agency withdrew its funding on 12 March council said this left it with a funding shortfall that now exceeded £ Leader of Southampton City Council, councillor Lorna Fielker said: "While we appreciate the significant challenges facing the River Itchen Flood Alleviation Scheme, we remain dedicated to finding ambitious, strategic and innovative alternative plans to improve flood resilience for the area."
You can follow BBC Hampshire & Isle of Wight on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram.
