Review of the pilot flood protection grant scheme in a recently flooded area

In 2007, Defra launched a pilot grant scheme that provided funding for property-level flood protection surveys and measures in six locations in England. In November 2009, in what was probably the first flood event to affect any of these areas subsequent to the implementation of the pilot, the River Eden overtopped its banks and flooded one of the principal streets of Appleby-in-Westmorland. Six months later, this research was commissioned by Defra to discover what difference the government-funded measures had made to the people of the town, what factors had affected the implementation and effectiveness of the grant scheme and how the experience of the flood had changed attitudes towards this approach to flood risk management. This report details the findings of that research and is therefore of relevance to any local, regional or national bodies that are considering the introduction of similar schemes.