“Councillor Stuart Hughes, Devon County Council cabinet member for flood prevention, said the council has not been successful in securing funding through the “partnership” model.
He said: “We have submitted further bids for more than £2.5 million to be considered for the next six year programme. We reported to Defra during the consultation process that there is a difficulty in obtaining funding for rural communities where there are low numbers of properties and little opportunity for large-scale contributions. This is a real issue for Devon which we feel needs to be addressed.”
East Devon Watch 
Government (both national and local) cannot have it both ways. The simple answer is, if there is no money to protect rural communities, then NO MORE building should be allowed on flood plains.
Landowners and developers should be made PERSONALLY liable for any subsequent increase in flooding caused by future developments. This should stop inappropriate development in its tracks and help to protect existing houses from increased risk, as it is householders who pay the price through higher insurance premiums. Why should they pick up the tab?
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Ah, yes, but what happens then is that a “shell” company is formed, the housing is built and, pouf, the company goes out of business!
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