A PROJECT working to improve resilience to flooding in communities across Devon has received a prestigious national award.

The Devon Resilience Innovation Project (DRIP), which helps neighbourhoods to be better prepared for flooding and to recover more quickly from flood events, was among the winners at the Environment Agency’s Flood & Coast Excellence Awards.

It was presented with an award in the ‘Surface Water Management’ category, recognising DRIP’s work to increase flood resilience in Stokeinteignhead, including natural flood management, property flood resilience, community engagement and a surface water flood forecasting pilot project.

This work has been led by Devon County Council, with support from a number of partners: Westcountry Rivers Trust, JBA Consulting, Kisters, University of Exeter and University of Plymouth.

Councillor Jacqi Hodgson, Cabinet Member for Climate Change and Biodiversity, said: ‘Congratulations to everyone involved with DRIP – it is an extremely valuable project which is helping communities across Devon and making a real difference to people’s lives.

‘I am glad the work by DRIP has been recognised with this award, which is very much deserved’.

There are a number of ways DRIP is supporting communities to improve their flood resilience, including managing the flow of water in an area, planning for and responding effectively to incidents, recovering quickly and building back better, and making the best-informed land use and development choices.

DRIP is funded by DEFRA as part of the £150 million Flood and Coastal Resilience Innovation Programme (FCRIP) which is managed by the Environment Agency to develop and test new approaches to help communities become more resilient to the effects of flooding and climate change.

Gale Alexander, DRIP project manager, said: ‘We are thrilled to receive this award because it represents a triumph for our efforts on the project over the previous five years.

‘Being recognised by our peers is the ultimate accolade for the whole Flood & Coastal Risk Management team who have contributed in different ways, and our partner organisations’.