Flood prevention calls backed by Shropshire residents

The North Shropshire MP has reportedly told Chancellor George Osborne money spent on preventing flooding should effectively be ring-fenced because Britain faces even more extreme weather in the future.

Flooding has been a big issue in Shropshire over the years, with Shrewsbury and Ironbridge among the worst hit areas. Shropshire endured its second wettest calendar year on record in 2012, with rivers bursting their banks and flood barriers erected in parts of the county.

Floods in England currently cause £1.1 billion damage every year. But experts have warned that this could rise to £27 billion by the end of the century as weather becomes more unpredictable.

The Coalition has increased the amount of money spent on coastal and river defences following last year's floods. In the current spending round – 2011 to 2015 – it stands at about £2.3bn.

Former leader of Shrewsbury Town Council, Councillor Peter Nutting, said he supported Mr Paterson's stance.

"Flooding has been a serious issue in Shrewsbury, but the money already spent has achieved spectacular results which now mean the town doesn't grind to a halt when we do get hit by flooding," he said.

"This has been achieved at relatively minor cost and obviously there has to be a budget, but I would support further spending on flooding infrastructure in other areas because it is important and certainly in the case of Shrewsbury it has transformed the town."

One of the businesses affected by flooding in the Ironbridge area has been the Ironbridge Antiques, Arts & Crafts Centre.

Donna Byard, who runs the business with her husband Nigel, also backed Mr Paterson's calls.

"Flooding has huge impacts on properties and businesses," she said.

Mr Paterson is one of a group of Cabinet ministers resisting Mr Osborne's attempts to find £11.5 billion of cuts to public spending for 2015-16. Mr Paterson, Philip Hammond, the Defence Secretary, Theresa May, the Home Secretary and Vince Cable, the Business Secretary, will now be interrogated by other ministers and officials about how they can slash their budgets further.

Defra said: "We are spending over £2.3bn on tackling the risk of flooding. We are on course to better protect 165,000 homes from flooding by 2015 – 20,000 more than our target."

Mr Paterson was unavailable to comment.