Understanding the links between economic development and flood risk investment

Tender description

This project will undertake research on how flood risk management and water environment improvement projects can impact local/national economic growth. It will develop a theory of change and methodology to include local and possibly national economic growth in Environment Agency business cases. It is frequently claimed there are economic growth benefits from reducing flood risk and improving the quality of the water environment. These could be from: - Creating jobs to deliver investment programmes, such as the £5.2bn flood and coast capital fund. This may also create further jobs elsewhere in the economy through multiplier effects. - Reducing the economic harm caused by natural disasters such as floods. This helps to sustain existing businesses and avoids diverting scarce resources needed to deal with the clean-up, allowing more investment for productivity growth or other productive uses. There is detailed academic research on this topic (e.g. Boosting SME’s resilience – Yorkshire Integrated Catchment Solutions Programme (iCASP)). - Stimulating higher investment and productivity growth by: o Improving investor confidence by reducing uncertainty about the impact of flooding or water pollution incidents. o Improving water quality can remove barriers to development which can be beneficial in obtaining planning permission, therefore enabling increased economic development. o Encouraging agglomeration benefits by improving the amenity of an area, thereby making it more attractive for businesses, workers, and customers. o Encouraging commercial development by reducing long-term property damage risk. o Economic regeneration with the aim of attracting and fostering new economic activities such as better skilled jobs and investment.