SOMERSET County Council will “look closely” at a Government scheme designed to help communities that suffered repeated flooding.

Areas covered by The Frequently Flooded Allowance will benefit from a new ring-fenced £100 million allowance designed to better protect their properties, the Government has announced.

Flooding affected properties in Chard, Ilminster and the surrounding villages in mid- and late-2021.

Flash flooding occurred in Ilminster in late-October 2021, with properties on and around the B3168 Station Road and Ditton Street affected.

The funding will be targeted at eligible communities where 10 or more properties have flooded twice or more in the last 10 years, helping to both accelerate existing projects and deliver new ones.

It is anticipated around 80 schemes will receive support over the next four years.

A spokesperson for Somerset County Council said: “To be frank we welcome any funding from the government which recognises the devastation flooding causes to people’s lives.

“We will have to look closely at the detail of this scheme to see how it might benefit Somerset in general and whether it will benefit South Somerset specifically.

“We are continuing to work closely with our colleagues at the Environment Agency to identify the priority areas for investment which will undoubtedly include those areas of South Somerset particularly affected by the flooding last year.”

This allowance will be part of the Government’s current programme of investment in flood and coastal defences.

The Government announced in 2020 that the amount invested in flood and coastal erosion schemes would be doubled in England to £5.2 billion between 2021 and 2027, providing around 2,000 flood defences.

This year, £700 million is being invested from that pot and will better protect 35,000 properties, bringing the cumulative total for the first two years of the six-year programme to more than 65,000.

Environment secretary George Eustice said: “Flooding is a miserable experience, especially for people who suffer its impacts time and again, and I feel we have a moral imperative to help.

“Our new Frequently Flooded Allowance will boost schemes in areas which are hit repeatedly and reduce the risk of flooding in the future.

“This new allowance will provide extra support for these areas and forms part of our major £5.2 billion effort to build around 2,000 flood schemes by 2027 and level-up defences across the country.”