Concerns raised on the halting of Lowestoft’s tidal flood protection barrier project by Peter Aldous, Waveney MP, David Beavan, deputy leader of East Suffolk Council, and members of Use Your Voice

Concerns have been raised about the impact a funding shortfall for a coastal town’s tidal flood protection barrier will have on its communities.

A meeting was hosted by Waveney MP Peter Aldous in Westminster on Wednesday at the request of Lowestoft climate action group Use Your Voice regarding the £124 million funding gap for the project.

The meeting was also attended by representatives including David Beavan, deputy leader of East Suffolk Council (ESC), and Hugh Ellis, of the Town and Country Planning Association.

The tidal barrier project was halted in late January due to there being no prospect of government help to address the funding shortfall, although ESC leader Caroline Topping said conversations were ongoing to revive the project in March.

Mr Aldous said the time pressures regarding funding for the barrier brought the issue to the fore, given the town’s port, which will be used extensively for the construction of Sizewell C, will need to be closed to build the barrier.

“There is widespread concern of ‘where do we go now?’” he said. “When it comes to the impact of climate change, our coast is very vulnerable and exposed.

“I’m not convinced, despite the debate that we had on December 19, that that has been acknowledged in Whitehall.

“When it comes to achieving net zero goals, this cannot be done without the East of England – we need proper investment in our area to fully protect our communities from these increasingly harsh storms and to ensure that the UK delivers net zero.”

Mr Aldous added that he believed the funding mechanism, which was used by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) to determine funding for the tidal barrier, needed to be reconsidered.

The debate, which took place in Westminster Hall, concerned coastal erosion in Suffolk and Norfolk, with the Waveney MP opening the session. He implored the government and DEFRA to support Coastal Partnership East, which manages the coast between Holkham in North Norfolk and Landguard Point in Felixstowe.

Use Your Voice requested the meeting as it could not understand, after considering flood risk assessments and liaising with several agencies, the reasoning behind the halting of the works.

A spokesperson for the group said: “It is an essential part of Lowestoft’s flood protection in all the plans. Cancelling it is like spending millions of pounds and then leaving the front door off.”

Work on the first phase of the tidal barrier was completed during 2023, but a £20 million shortfall meant it was not able to continue with the next stage, which was due to take up the first half of this year.

Cllr Beavan said ESC is halfway there with the funding for the project and that without the barrier plans, significant numbers of new housing on Kirkley Waterfront would be jeopardised.

“If the government put in £124 million we would be away and sorted – we can’t come up with it ourselves.

“Without them we don’t get matched funding from other sources.

“We’ve got all of Kirkley Waterfront, room for 2,000 houses which at present is below sea level – we just need to build houses and we cant do it in a flood plain.

“The optimal time is now.”

Cllr Beavan questioned the logic of building a series of flood barriers around the harbour to then ‘not finish the job’ with a barrier to stop the sea surge from coming around the back.

Hugh Ellis, of the Town and Country Planning Association, said: “It could be a socio-economic death sentence for Lowestoft.

“It’s an enormous issue for the future of the town – the funding formula needs fundamental change.

“You have to look at the whole town and it’s vital that funding allows local authorities to factor in future housing.”

A Defra spokesperson said: “We have been made aware that East Suffolk Council is unable to progress with the proposed Lowestoft tidal barrier due to cost increases caused by changes to the scope of the project and inflationary pressures.

“The government is investing £5.6 billion between 2021 and 2027 to better protect communities across England from flooding and coastal erosion, including in Lowestoft, and will continue working with the council and other partners to help them develop a viable and affordable proposal for the town.”