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Flood and Water Management Bill

I hope that we do not get confused here. This clause is aimed at three primary purposes: nature conservation, preservation of the cultural heritage, and people’s enjoyment of the natural heritage. It is not intended to determine what happens when the Environment Agency makes a decision about a flood risk management scheme around the coast. That is dealt with in other parts of the legislation that surrounds flood risk management. Therefore, whether or not a broader scheme, such as the Morecambe Bay scheme and some of the Essex setback schemes, goes ahead is determined on the basis of its flood risk management requirements. This clause simply refers to enabling the Environment Agency to make things wetter for nature conservation, for heritage or for enjoyment, but not for the basic purpose of flood risk management, which is covered elsewhere in legislation.