Report by Duncan Williams for Pulman's Weekly News
Somerset is set to receive £50 million in government funding to help protect homes, farms and businesses from future flooding following what ministers described as an exceptionally challenging start to 2026.
The investment, announced on Tuesday 9th June, comes after the county experienced its second wettest January on record, with more than double the average monthly rainfall. Flooding continued into February, prompting Somerset Council to declare a major incident as communities across the county faced prolonged disruption.
Despite the scale of the flooding, existing flood defences, deployed pumps and Environment Agency teams working around the clock helped protect 2,860 properties from being inundated.
The new funding package was announced by Floods Minister Emma Hardy during the Flood and Coast Conference and is intended to strengthen Somerset’s resilience to future extreme weather events.
The £50 million investment will fund a range of…
