THE Environment Agency insists its £20million scheme for the Steart peninsular near Bridgwater is NOT primarily about flood defence – after a Government minister admitted it would not protect a single home from flooding.

Richard Benyon, Minister for Natural Environment and Fisheries, wrote to MPs this week, informing them of the 39 new “flood and coastal erosion management projects” in England which would be going ahead this year.

His letter said 21 of the schemes would protect a total of 13,000 homes from flooding, but the Steart project was listed among the 18 others which would not directly protect any homes.

Mark Rice, from the Environment Agency, said the Steart project involved breaking holes in the existing flood defences, and building new defences much further back.

With the old defences weakened, the 350 hectares of land in between would be flooded at high tide, creating an “intertidal” habitat in which birds and other wildlife would flourish.

Mr Rice said the project’s primary aim was to fulfil the agency’s statutory duty under European law to replace wildlife habitat lost when it builds new flood defences elsewhere in the country, including on the Severn Estuary.

However, Bridgwater MP Ian Liddell-Grainger accused the Environment Agency and Mr Benyon of contradicting each other.

He said: “On the one hand, the Government is saying this is for flood defence, and on the other hand, the Environment Agency says it’s about creating new wildlife habitat.

“This money is being spent on something that’s not required.

"It could be spent on our schools, or our new hospital.”

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