PM promises to 'make sure' Chancellor looks into MP's £500m plan to 'tame' River Severn flood risks

Daniel Kawczynski leads a group of 38 Conservative MPs who have the River Severn flowing through their constituencies and the caucus has presented its business case to Chancellor Jeremy Hunt.

Mr Kawczynski has also secured an adjournment debate in the House of Commons on Wednesday evening to further debate the issues.

During PMQs Mr Kawczynski told Prime Minister Rishi Sunak: "Our constituencies are facing flooding every year with the damage that causes our businesses and our communities."

He told the PM that investing in holistically controlling the river would lead to an economic boost across the West Midlands many times greater.

"Will the Prime Minister take an interest because the business case shows a GVA uplift for the West Midlands of over £100 billion if we can manage and tame Britain's longest river?" he said.

Mr Sunak recalled speaking to the Shrewsbury and Atcham MP when he was Chancellor of the Exchequer and said he would "make sure" that current holder of the purse-strings, Jeremy Hunt, "does look at the business case".

Mr Sunak praised his Conservative colleague "for the work and his leadership on this issue in his local area.

"I will make sure the Chancellor does look at the business case."

He added that the Government has "significantly increased funding for flood defences to over £5 billion, protecting hundreds of thousands more homes."

But he added that if "this is an interesting opportunity for the chancellor to have a look at it, I'm sure he'll take that up".

Mr Kawczynski says his scheme would mean farmers and landowners being paid to hold water on their land.

He says this is possible since the UK left the EU and there is no need to comply with the Common Agricultural policy, giving the country the ability to incentivise landowners for water retention and management.

After he secured the adjournment debate Mr Kawczynski said: “I consider the now-annual flooding of Shrewsbury as the single biggest barrier to our town’s economic development.

"I have seen at first-hand the misery experienced by many constituents having their businesses and homes flooded. It is a very traumatic experience to find your home and personal possessions destroyed.

“With this in mind, I have tried to focus on finding a solution. If weather patterns continue in the way we have been experiencing, the situation will only continue to get worse.

"I invited the Secretary of State for Defra to a flooded Coleham in February 2019. After this visit we secured an initial seed funding of £50m to implement a certain number of flood protection schemes in the constituency and to come up with a plan of water management to holistically manage Britain’s longest river.”

The MP said the Parliamentary caucus of Conservative MPs who have the Severn flowing through their constituencies act as a team and "no other part of the UK has this collective approach".

"After four years of painstaking work we are presenting our business case to the Chancellor asking for £500m for this project.”

He added: "We are leaving no stone unturned in our attempts to ensure that in next year’s Spring Budget the Chancellor announces this huge investment to protect not only Shrewsbury but other communities downstream.”