HOMES near Evesham are set to benefit from a £500,000 flood defence scheme.

Barbourne, Badsey, Littleton, Merry and Isbourne brooks in Worcestershire are set to benefit from a number of new natural flood management schemes thanks to the project announced by floods minister Thérèse Coffey.

The scheme will protect homes in Sedgeberrow and Hinton, Charlton, Childswickham and Wickhamford, all near Evesham, and Winchcombe, near Cheltenham,

Construction will start in January 2018 and due for completion in 2021.

This is part of a £2 million scheme across Herefordshire, Worcestershire, Shropshire, Gloucestershire and the town of Shipston in Warwickshire.

Floods Minister Thérèse Coffey said: "This funding will help more than 50 projects around the country take full advantage of innovative natural flood management measures. Flood defence technology and engineering is better than ever and by using a mix of natural and concrete defences, we can provide the best flood protection for individual areas.

"Methods such as restoring floodplains and planting trees will not only help protect families, homes and businesses from flooding, they will also bring environmental benefits to the wider area and all the people who live in these many communities.

Environment Agency chairman Emma Howard Boyd said: "Natural flood management is an important part of our approach, alongside traditional flood defences and helping homeowners to improve their own property resilience. There is no 'one size fits all' solution to flooding and this scheme is a fantastic example of how we can use a variety of measures that work together to reduce flood risk."

The projects, which will be delivered by a range of different partners including local councils and flood action groups, will provide improvements to help slow the flow of water reaching rivers and watercourses upstream of communities at flood risk based on evidence mapping.

Measures to naturally manage the flow of water through catchments could include installing in-stream features such as leaky dams, rural sustainable drainage, woodland planting and interventions on agricultural land to increase infiltration and reduce overland flow into rivers.

These schemes are just some of 58 across England which will benefit from £15 million of government funding, which was announced in March following the autumn statement, for natural flood defences.