The Centre has completed an innovatory benefit assessment for Exeter City Council Engineer's Department for the proposed new Exeter flood alleviation scheme. Benefit assessments are usually undertaken using the principles of national economic efficiency benefit-cost appraisals as required by The Treasury in their Green Book. However, since local partnership funding of flood risk management projects has emerged there is also considerable interest in local (in addition to national) economic and social benefits which assess the financial impact of floods and the benefits to local and regional economies of protecting against them. Such an assessment allows potential local beneficiaries to obtain a better understanding of the likely impacts of floods on them and their business linkages. The project involved major adjustments to the Centre's flood damage data sets which are routinely used by the flood risk management industry, and the establishment of a new methodology for local/regional economic and social benefit appraisal. The results of the project revealed that local economic and social benefits are likely to be substantially higher than national economic ones – something which was already expected but for which data allowing detailed estimates to be made had not previously existed.
The Centre is interested in hearing from other local authorities that might be interested in the advantages of applying these new data and methods.
Funder:
Exeter City Council
Duration:
2012 – 2013
FHRC Project Manager:
Professor Dennis Parker
