13-05-2025
Red tape keeps government storm grant from reaching flood victims, warn experts
New figures reveal the Government's £5,000 Property Flood Resilience grant scheme is comprehensively failing to reach those who need it most after Storm Babet and Henk caused damage
Thousands of flood victims are missing out on government support to protect their homes from future storms, experts warn. Data obtained by climate education charity One Home, via a Freedom of Information request, shows the £5,000 Property Flood Resilience grant scheme is not reaching those in need.
Introduced in 2013, the PFR can fund improvements to make properties more resilient, including the installation of tiled flooring, plastic skirting boards and plinths, and raising electrical points. But environmental scientist and One Home chief executive Angela Terry said: "The PFR grant scheme is not supporting flood victims in their most desperate time. There is a huge disconnect between the number of homeowners who are eligible to apply and those who are actually doing so."
For example, following Storms Babet and Henk in 2023 and 2024 there were 94 homeowners eligible for a grant in Norfolk but only seven of those applied. And even those whose application is approved may also face a year-long wait for the money to hit their accounts.
Ms Terry added: "Local authorities ask homeowners to pay out for hefty survey costs before they can even apply for the grant, so it's not surprising that so many are put off by the red tape, low success rates and long wait times." She added that the value of the grant had not increased since its launch a decade ago, despite high inflation since then.
Ms Terry also said an estimated one in four houses would be at risk of flooding by 2050, due to more frequent severe storms caused by climate change.
Siobhan Connor founded the Shrewsbury Flood Action Group after her home flooded at least 20 times since 1998. She has applied for the Property Flood Resilience scheme but said: "There is so much red tape to go through and you also have to pay up-front for a £500 survey, which in my opinion is nothing more than a Google map search."
Campaigner Mary Long-Dhonau said: "Due to the bureaucracy involved, I'm not surprised that so few are able to actually follow the complicated application process through. However, I encourage everyone eligible to apply."
Ms Terry added that the Government should invest in flood prevention to ensure the 1.5 million homes it wants to build by 2030 are prepared for global warming. She added: added: 'I implore the Government to take more decisive action in investing in flood prevention and resilience measures and in increasing public awareness of both the risks and the support available"
Defra said: "This government inherited flood defences in their worst condition on record.
"That's why we are investing a record £2.65billion to build and maintain flood defences, protecting homes, lives and businesses across the country."
Defra added that under the Government's Plan for Change they would investing £2.65 billion to build and maintain flood defences to protect lives, homes and businesses across the country. This will be used to build or maintain 1,000 flood defences, protecting more than 66,000 properties.
