Communities in danger of flooding will soon see the benefits of nearly £3million worth of new protections.

Devon County Council has now signed of its Flood Risk Management Action Plan which will be rolled out in high-risk areas across the county.

Many of the schemes detailed in the plan are already underway or due to start in 2019, including surface water improvements to protect 200 properties in Sidmouth, Exeter and Ivybridge. Other proposed schemes include natural flood management measures and hard engineered flood improvements at Ottery St Mary.

The plan also detail funding for investigation, surveys and studies to be carried out to progress designs for potential schemes in future.

Councillor Roger Croad, who is responsible for the environment, said: “Our prioritised approach to flood risk management is successfully reducing flood risk to some of the most vulnerable areas in the county.

“We are committed to implementing measures to reduce flood risk to communities across Devon and we will continue to work to maximise funding to make a real difference to our residents through individual flood improvement schemes and community resilience support.”

Over the past year Devon County Council has continued to work with district councils, South West Water and the Environment Agency to investigate area at risk of flooding and deliver critical flood improvement schemes to communities that have suffered significant flooding in recent years.

More than £3million was invested in flood management measures last year, allowing 150 properties to benefit from a reduced risk of flooding from completed schemes, including those at Modbury, Uplyme, Bideford and Frogmore.

The council’s has also been working to make communities more resilient. The Property Level Resilience Grant Scheme has helped 40 properties by installing up to £5,000 worth of flood resilience measures, exceeding the target of 25 properties for the year.

The Devon Community Resilience Forum has also continued to support communities in preparing their emergency plans and providing funding to purchase the relevant equipment to deliver their plans.