Seventy homes and businesses will benefit from hundreds of thousands of pounds aimed to protect the area from flooding.

Worcester will receive £238,000 to combat flooding in the area in 2021-22, £173,000 of which will go towards better protecting 35 homes in Lower Wick.

MP for Worcester Robin Walker said: “Worcester residents know the damage flooding can do to communities which is why I have made additional flood defences and protection for homes and businesses a priority since I was elected in 2010.

“The city centre scheme to reduce surface water damage will help keep the area around the Hive safe, while a major scheme to protect Toronto Close will invest £160,000 in an area whose residents have suffered a great deal.

“Importantly, these investments will help to guard homes and families from the devastating impact of flooding, allowing people to feel reassured about the safety of their home.”

Read more about how homes in Toronto Close were devastated by flooding.

This is part of the government’s nationwide £5.2 billion investment into flood protection and coastal erosion over the next six years with £860 million being invested in the upcoming year.

The Flood and Coastal Erosion Investment Plan will help protect a total of 336,000 properties in England, including the 70 in Worcester, which it is hoped will help the country avoid around £32 billion in damages as well as reducing the national flood risk by up to 11 per cent.

Alongside the funding will be consultations in the autumn, where the government will look at how to better protect frequently flooded communities, following a call for evidence earlier this year.

The government is also bringing in tighter guidance for planning authorities as well as making improvements to flood insurance such as measures to allow flooded households to claim extra money to install protection such as air brick covers, flood doors and flood resistant paint.

Environment Secretary George Eustice said: “We are standing by communities and will bolster defences against flooding across England with many thousands more properties better protected by 2027.

“It’s important we take action right across the system. Our comprehensive plan will achieve this by tightening planning procedures, helping more people access insurance and making homes more resilient to flooding.”