At the end of September we had one of the highest tides of the year but luckily the weather was calm avoiding a  potential flooding disaster. But don’t be lulled into a false sense of security!  The Marsh has flooded before and will do so again unless our sea defences are adequately strengthened and maintained. [...]

Given recently published articles in the national press concerning flood insurance issues DOC feels it necessary to provide some useful links for further background information on this subject.
Association of British Insurers (ABI) Statement of Principle (2005)
ABI /Government Statement 2008 - Flood Insurance for England
Summary on the ABI Position on Insurance for Flooding
DEFRA - Flooding and [...]

With high spring tides  yet again forecast for the end of the month and early into October we are rapidly running out of time to protect the Marsh from potential flooding. The Summer has not been kind and high winds in July battered our fast eroding foreshores which already suffer from a very low standard [...]

We are grateful to the Environment Agency who have recently provided DOC with their latest update on sea defence issues concerning the Marsh. The regional EA Staff continues to work hard on behalf of all our coastal communities in order to secure adequate funding for the remaining capital schemes as set out in the Folkestone [...]

DOC was invited  to join this project as stakeholder for coastal communities on the Romney Marsh. The first workshop took place at Kent County Council, Maidstone  on 25 July 2011.  CC2150 is an INTERREG IVA funded cross-border project designed to analyse the effects of global warming on coastal communities with a bugdet of 2.5 million [...]

Following the successful completion of the Dymchurch Sea Wall scheme the race is now on to ensure that funding can be allocated to complete the remaining, but as yet still outstanding, coastal defence schemes on the Marsh.
At the request of DOC the Rt Hon Lord Smith of Finsbury, who is Chairman of the Environment Agency, [...]

On Saturday, 9 July 2011, the new Dymchurch Sea Wall was officially opened by the Rt. Hon. Lord Smith of Finsbury, Chairman of the Environment Agency. The scheme was implemented by the Environment Agency  as part of the wider Folkestone to Cliff End Sea Defence Strategy.
The event was a great success and Damian Collins MP,  [...]

On Monday DEFRA announced changes to the way funding will be allocated to flood and coastal defence schemes. These reforms are intended to provide an improvement in transparency whilst at the same time providing greater certainty over potential funding levels from the general taxpayer for every flood and coastal defence project. But uncertainty remains  on [...]

DOC has just been supplied with the latest update from the Environment Agency which outlines the present position on the Folkestone to Cliff End Strategy Schemes. Although funding for various schemes has not been allocated in the 2011/12 spending review, the Environment Agency is working closely with their consultants to look at possible interim measures [...]

Following the full public consultation earlier this year on the allocation of capital funding for flood and coastal erosion risk management, the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has today set out a new partnership approach to funding flood and coastal erosion risk management. The new approach aims to be both fairer [...]