Watch: Floods minister visits Shrewsbury to learn of Severn Partnership's hopes for £500 million funding

Robbie Moore MP, minister for water and rural growth, was invited to Shrewsbury on Wednesday morning to learn more about the work undertaken by the River Severn Partnership (RSP) and its hopes to secure £500m.

The partnership is between eight of the English and Welsh councils that cover the river's catchment area, the Environment Agency, local wildlife trusts and a range of other organisations.

They aim to make the Severn, Wye, Warwickshire Avon and Teme "the most vibrant and resilient river network" in the country.

Last week, Shrewsbury MP Daniel Kawczynski brought forward a debate in Parliament to highlight the impact flooding was having on the county town and spoke of the partnership's £500m business plan.

Mr Kawczynski agreed the price tag was "a mind-blowing amount of money" but said the results would be "transformational" and would "finally tame" the Severn.

During Wednesday's tour of the river at Frankwell, accompanied by RSP joint chairs Mark Barrow and Clare Dinnis, Mr Kawczynski and members of the partnership, Mr Moore was shown the plaque marking the historic flooding levels.

Speaking about the ever-increasing rate of flooding in the catchment area, EA area director for the West Midlands, Clare Dinnis told the minister: "We are past the tipping point of climate change."

Walking alongside the flood barriers at Frankwell - which were being removed for the second time this winter - EA operations field services team leader Bryan Glover explained the massive effort involved in erecting and dismantling the defences.

The group paused on the Frankwell footbridge so the minister could hear about plans to regenerate the Riverside area of Shrewsbury. Professor Mark Barrow, executive director of place at Shropshire Council, spoke of the flooding-friendly plans to transform the town.

The minister was shown drawings for the regeneration, including raised buildings to minimise the impact of flooding and the addition of a park which would help absorb run-off from the town before it reached the river.

Following the tour, Mr Moore said that he would "pick up conversations with the Treasury team" adding "now is the time to put pressure on" when it came to getting a decision on the spring Budget.

Mr Moore said he was "very determined" to come down and see the challenges himself after Mr Kawczynski raised the issue in Parliament.

"It's been really good to see some of the flood protection measures that are being put in by the EA... we know the challenges here so it's been good to come out and see that," he said.

"But what I'm really keen to make sure is that the Government is supporting people in the River Severn catchment.

"We've allocated a huge amount of funding to the whole of the catchment over recent years and that has protected homes but of course we want to see that go further and work out how we can get schemes that protect homes from flooding by increasing the lag time of water getting into the town."

Following the visit, MP Daniel Kawczynski said he was pleased to welcome the minister to discuss the issue of annual flooding, which he described as "the biggest barrier to Shrewsbury's economic development".