FLOOD defences across North Yorkshire may be improved after the Environment Agency was promised a £520,000 budget boost.
Yorkshire Forward will give the agency the money in a matched-funding agreement with local councils.
The regional agency pledged to hand over £260,000, with the councils matching the amount.
It means the Environment Agency's local flood levy budget will now be more than £1m.
A local levy is raised annually by the agency's Regional Flood Defence Committee to fund work in the area it is collected in.
Typically, this means projects that would not otherwise receive funding from the usual central Government funds.
Jeremy Walker, the agency's Yorkshire regional flood defence committee chairman, said: "Against a background of continuing tight budgets and funding difficulties, it is very good news for the region.
"The prospect of additional resources will enable the agency to work with local authorities and others to develop a longer term programme designed to provide help in more places."
Flood risk management funding in England and Wales will rise from £600m to £800m by 2010.
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