Greater Manchester, Merseyside & Cheshire (GMMC) Natural Flood Management (NFM)

The Environment Agency is seeking offers from suitable organisations for the delivery of on-the-ground Natural Flood Management (NFM) projects in the Greater Manchester, Merseyside and Cheshire area. This funding offer arose from a National Defra Opportunity Fund to deliver Natural Flood Management catchment scale projects.

The aim of the project is to deliver numerous, catchment-wide, small-scale 'slow-the flow' interventions in catchments upstream of communities at flood risk. These communities are widespread across the area but a priority is those communities at the foot of rapidly responding catchments in the Pennine upland areas that experienced flooding last year, such as Delph, Uppermill, Stalybridge, Mossley and for others at high risk such as Hayfield, Glossop and Whalley Bridge.

It is likely that interventions will be delivered at a local scale by a range of organisations carrying out similar environmental or community projects in the catchment. Once outcomes are established, the aim is that these sustainable interventions will be delivered, taking a phased approach, by March 2021. The incremental increases in flood attenuation expected will help to reduce flood risk and/or help keep ahead of projected climate change risk increases to maintain our current flood alleviation scheme standards of protection.

The focus of the project is on delivering multiple benefits in a sustainable catchment partnership approach that will make a tangible difference in delivering flood risk reductions. Consideration will be given to projects delivering a range of NFM interventions including, leaky barriers, woodland planting, peat restoration and land management practices. Projects will need to have appropriate monitoring that can help capture the benefits expected. No NFM techniques are ruled out (subject to statutory constraints and avoiding negative impacts on habitats) and the selected projects should be appropriate and beneficial for the environment as a whole and will help to grow confidence in NFM techniques for managing flood risk. Projects will focus on local delivery, with a preference for partnering with organisations currently delivering other projects in the catchment but all suitable proposals will be considered.

Organisations are invited to submit suitable projects for consideration. Submissions will be assessed to compare project outcomes and overall value for money. Proposals will be considered from individual organisations, consortiums or other combined partnership arrangements. If a consolidated proposal is presented, a single organisation must be nominated to act as project/management lead.

There is no limit on the number of individual projects an organisation can submit for consideration but delivery of NFM interventions must be clearly evidenced and each project submitted independently.

Full details of the opportunity and forms to complete can be found on the Defra Bravo ePortal www.defra.bravosolutions.co.uk.

Additional information:

Full details of the opportunity, how to register and tender documents are available on the Defra eTendering Portal www.defra.bravosolution.co.uk under contract reference 23243.