Something needs to be done to prevent this
Today, the coalition government will announce their intentions to increase spending on social housing, flood defences and explore the option of the first lagoon power project which has the potential to provide the UK with 8% of its energy.
An innovative scheme has been put forward where the government could stand as a direct commissioner of housing, which will be announced in the 2014 national infrastructure plan, put forth by Danny Alexander the chief secretary of the Treasury.
After yesterday’s announcement that the government is allocating £15 billion on the new roads programme- this seemed the logical next step.
Alexander will provide details of a six year flood defence programme, which includes 1,400 projects that aim to provide increased protection for 300,000 homes susceptible to flooding. The treasury have suggested that a £2.3 billion investment would see £30 billion worth of damage being prevented.
Labour said the money was an allocation of funds already announced, adding “the whole exercise reeks of pork barrel politics in which the Treasury promise to throw money in key marginal seats”.
Those areas most affected would be the Humber estuary which would receive £80 million, £17 million would go to Tonbridge, Yalding and the surrounding communities, the Thames estuary would expect £196 million, £373 million for the Boston Barrier, £43 million for the Oxford Western conveyance and 47million for the Rossall coastal defence.
Somerset will also benefit with £15.5 million over the next six years, which will aid 7,000 houses. £4.2 million will go to Somerset levels and moors, which was the worst affected in the floods last year.
Ed Davey, the energy secretary, is going to be in talks next month with Tidal Lagoon Power, who aim to launch the world’s first tidal lagoon power plant in Swansea Bay- to establish if this will be of value to the customer.
“Lagoon technology has the potential to provide predictable long-term green energy with an investment lasting over a century. We believe tidal lagoons have really significant potential in the UK, and could start contributing to UK energy needs as early as the end of the decade. The larger the number of sources of energy in the UK, the better for consumers since it will bring prices down if there is competition. The UK has a great indigenous tidal resource, the second biggest in the world, and we have the potential to become world leaders,” he said.
He will enquire of the costs of the tidal lagoon powers as well as the level of subsidy that would be needed to kick start the project. Unlike the Severn barrage, this project is heavily supported by Friends of the Earth and the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds- so a positive start.
The idea is to build a six mile wall around Swansea, so a lagoon will sit in the Bristol Channel, including turbines to maximise on the incoming and outgoing tides and provide power for 14 hours per day.
This renewable energy will see 120,000 homes catered for for 120 years, saving 236,000 tonnes of carbon every year. It would provide 1,850 construction jobs, 150 long term jobs in operations and leisure so the benefits to the public are endless.
To summarise, the National Infrastructure Plan aims to spend £460 billion of both public and private investment by the end of the decade. This will raise the average annual investment to 15% more than it was in the previous parliament- going from £41 billion to £47 billion.
Alexander also wants to spend £100 milion on shovel ready housing, as there is a need or as many as 250,000 new homes per year to accommodate the rise in demand.
He told the housing fringe at his party’s conference: “If we are to address both the cyclical nature of the market and the structural under-supply of housing, then I think we also need to consider whether the government should operate as a commissioner of housing. A truly radical approach would be for the government to also have a direct role in house building – not just affordable house building but in the private market also. You would have a capacity for the government to step in, to place orders, to pay contractors, build houses, and work out, once they are built, how and when they need to be sold.”