Minister for Natural Resources and Food, Alun Davies has announced an additional £2m to fund emergency repairs to flood defences that were damaged in the recent storms.

In a statement to Assembly Members, Alun Davies said: "I am determined to help those authorities who face significant costs to repair essential flood defences. I have reviewed my Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk Management budgets and will be making £2m available this financial year to support emergency works to our flood defence infrastructure.

"I can also confirm that around £9.m has already been allocated this financial year for repairs at Borth, Colwyn Bay and West Rhyl in order to improve vital coastal defence schemes.

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"I am working with my Ministerial colleagues, particularly in respect of regeneration, local government and heritage to co-ordinate our whole government response to the floods and to identify other potential sources of funding. This will help ensure that affected communities such as Aberystwyth quickly recover from the recent floods and remain open for business."

Following the storms in December and January, the Welsh Government contacted all affected authorities for initial reports of damage to the coastal defence infrastructure and other coastal assets and estimated funding needs. Current estimates suggest that close to £2million will be requested for emergency repairs.

The information provided suggests that coastal defences around Wales performed well and protected thousands of properties. While there was damage to some structures, the majority were said to be serviceable and most local authorities said they did not anticipate the need for Welsh Government funding to repair the damage.

(CD/IT)