AROUND £4million has been raised for a major flood defence on the River Parrett—which is nearly half Sedgemoor District Council’s overall target for the scheme.

The council has been raising the money since 2009 from developer contributions in the form of a tariff.

The scheme, called the Bridgwater Strategic Flood Defence Tariff, is paid by developers building houses in the area and is similar to them paying S106 contributions towards play areas and community facilities.

The council says it has nearly reached the halfway point of the £9.84million which it intends to put towards the huge £24million flood defence scheme which will work like a mini Thames Barrier to protect homes from flooding in the long term.

The council, which is working in partnership with the Environment Agency, says they will now use this money to start work on designs for the barrier and ground work investigations, which will take shape over the next year.

Sedgemoor’s planning policy manager Nick Tait said the flood defence tariff scheme has been hailed a huge success and is now being used as an example to other authorities around the country to show how funds can be acquired for major projects.

Although money towards the project is still needed to come from other sources, such as Defra or other central Government funding, work will be moving forward to get the defence built in the next ten years.

Originally the timescale was to have the barrier built in 2030, but the impact of last year’s funding on the Somerset Levels has made it more of an urgent priority, he said. It is hoped the Government’s Autumn Statement which will be made next month will include a large contribution for the barrier.

Mr Tait told the Mercury: “The monies raised through the tariff to date will initially be used to fund the detailed design on the barrier.

This is complex technical work that will need to be undertaken by specialist consultants in partnership with the Environment Agency and the district council.

“The 20-Year Flood Action Plan has a commitment to accelerate the construction of the barrier and therefore funds that have already been secured from the tariff will be used to start this phase of works in the near future (2015).

“The tariff approach has been extremely successful to date and has not deterred development in and around the town. Every effort is also being made to secure funds for the early construction of the barrier.”