September 20, 2019 10.55 am This story is over 54 months old

Defra will give £2m to farmers affected by this summer’s flooding

Up to £25k for repair costs
Flooded farmland in Wainfleet. Photo: NFU

Farmers affected by this summer’s flooding in Wainfleet in Lincolnshire and in North Yorkshire can now apply for support after Defra opened a £2 million fund to restore flood-affected farmland.

The Farming Recovery Fund will help farmers who have suffered uninsurable damage to their property to apply for grants between £500 and £25,000 to cover a number of repair costs.

The fund opened for applications on Friday, September 20. Farmers must submit an application to the Rural Payments Agency which explains how their business has been impacted and provide relevant evidence showing any damage caused by the flooding.

The grants under the fund are available for a range of farm restoration work, including rebuilding dry stone walls, re-cultivating productive land and replacing damaged field gates.

National Farmers’ Union East Midlands is holding a workshop for the farmers involved to talk through how they can apply for funding support from 9.30am-12pm on Thursday, October 3 at Friskney Village Hall.

The MP for Skegness previously apologised to angry residents of Wainfleet, admitting that organisations ‘failed the town’.

Wainfleet flood victims demanded that the local river should be protected to prevent further damage after over 500 homes were evacuated when heavy rain caused the River Steeping to burst its banks on June 12, 2019.

The Royal Air Force Chinook helicopters flew in with bulk bags of sand in Wainfleet. It was previously confirmed that the deployment of the RAF helicopters is expected to cost the government between £750,000 and £1 million.