The Government is to invest £2.3bn in flood defences and £15bn in road improvements.

A pilot programme on a government-owned former RAF base in Northstowe, near Cambridge, will see the Homes and Communities Agency leading the development of 10,000 homes.

The government will make an upfront investment but expects that later costs will be met through the sale of land and homes.

The National Infrastructure Plan, launched at the Institution of Civil Engineers, also sets out the progress made on previously announced major housing and regeneration schemes, including the first £100m investment to provide infrastructure and land remediation at Ebbsfleet, taking forward the government's commitment to the first new garden city for almost 100 years, delivering up to 15,000 new homes.

Additionally, it includes a commitment to a heads of terms agreement for a loan of £55m to support the extension of the London Overground to Barking Riverside, to unlock the delivery of 11,000 homes; and supporting the regeneration of Brent Cross subject to a business case, to unlock 7,500 homes.

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Today, the government is also extending the capital settlement for affordable housing by £957m in 2018-19 and 2019-20 to ensure that 275,000 new affordable homes can be delivered over the next Parliament.

The plan also commits to £2.3bn of capital investment to over 1,400 flood defence projects in an unprecedented six-year programme of investment.

As a result, over 300,000 homes will be better protected and over £30bn of economic damages prevented. Major projects that will benefit include £42m for Oxford Flood Alleviation Scheme, £80m for the Humber Estuary and over £17m for Tonbridge, Yalding and the surrounding communities.

Environment Secretary Elizabeth Truss, said: "We know how vital it is to tackle flood risk and from the Humber Estuary in the North-East to Thames Estuary in the South this ambitious programme of defences will reduce the threat of flooding for hundreds of thousands of people.

"This long-term investment will allow businesses and communities to thrive and local economies to flourish by delivering greater protection from flood risk over the next 6 years.

"We are spending £3.2 billion in flood management and defences over the course of this parliament – half a billion pounds more than in the previous parliament. This, combined with the record level of investment in capital we have set out today, will improve protection to 465,000 homes and businesses by the end of the decade."

(CD/JP)