Why have flood defence costs risen and funding stalled?

The future comes at you at unexpected ways. If the bullish pronouncements of tech bros are to believed it’s in the gadgets, gizmos and gimmicks dominating our feeds. Meanwhile, the future is coming fast for a tiny town in the middle of England.

Flooding comes at a terrible cost but what are we willing to pay? As the water reaches up to swallow Middle England, more and more places with hundreds of years of history are going to face grim choices about what’s worth preserving and what should be taken by the waters.

Links

• MP's anger as flood defences cash deadline missed, BBC: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c77zl24rm5eo
• The flood-prone Worcestershire town being abandoned by insurers, Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/oct/14/tenbury-wells-flood-prone-worcestershire-town-abandoned-by-insurers
• Dramatic Moment North Carolina Homes COLLAPSE into Ocean from Hurricane Winds, YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j3qplCLqppA
• ‘This is a wake-up call’: the villagers who could be Britain’s first climate refugees, The Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/may/18/this-is-a-wake-up-call-the-villagers-who-could-be-britains-first-climate-refugees