COUNTY Hall has been handed thousands of pounds to help tackle build ups of surface water and protect against flooding. Norwich has been singled out by government experts as an area at risk of flooding and now Defra has coughed up more than �100,000 to help Norfolk County Council prepare for future floods in the city.

COUNTY Hall has been handed thousands of pounds to help tackle build ups of surface water and protect against flooding.

Norwich has been singled out by government experts as an area at risk of flooding and now Defra has coughed up more than �100,000 to help Norfolk County Council prepare for future floods in the city.

Council chiefs say the money will be spent on drawing up a detailed plan of how best to tackle the threat of surface water.

Environment Secretary Hilary Benn announced the funding yesterday, which will see Norfolk County Council benefit from �125,000.

The money comes from a total pot of �800,000 to be distributed throughout the Eastern region, which will help more than 33,000 homes at risk.

Mr Benn said: “Local authorities have a crucial role to play in tackling flooding and it's vital that they have the information, resources and skills they need.

“That's why we've provided this money and we want to make sure it gets to where it's most needed and where it can make the biggest difference - especially as we know that climate change will cause increased severe rainfall in future and bring with it an increased risk of surface water flooding.”

Government guidance says that much of the money will be spent on a detailed study of surface water hotspots where excessive rain clogs up drains and overflows into the streets up in the city, and will identify ways to tackle these problems.

This is likely to involve creating extra drainage facilities, and will highlight larger infrastructure changes that can be made when planned work is done to roads, sewers and amenity areas.