MPs and Bury Council's leader have slammed the Government after Bury and Radcliffe missed out on a share of £36 million to improve flood defences.

Environment Minister Thérèse Coffey has announced that 25 locations across the UK will receive cash to improve flood protection — but Radcliffe and Redvales, where more than 670 homes were devastated by the Boxing Day floods in 2015 — are not among them.

Seventeen of the schemes given the go-ahead will each protect 100 homes or fewer by March 2021, in comparison to Radcliffe's scheme, which was expected to safeguard more than 1,000 properties.

Just last month, MPs Ivan Lewis and James Frith along with Bury Council leader Rishi Shori and Cllr Alan Quinn, cabinet member for the environment, went to Parliament to lobby Thérèse Coffey, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for the Environment.

They appealed for £7 million of Government cash towards a £37 million flood defence scheme to protect the Radcliffe and Redvales areas.

James Frith, MP for Bury North, said: "I'm very disappointed that the government has overlooked Bury’s urgent need for funding to avoid future flooding.

"I’ll be writing to the Minister as a matter of urgency asking for an explanation on why Bury will lose out. I know now that many of our residents still live with the fear that they'll be flooded out from their homes again every time it rains hard.

"I have invited Labour's Shadow Environment Secretary, Sue Hayman, to Bury next week to meet with families affected by flooding and discuss Labour's plans to invest in flood defences in communities like Bury."

Radcliffe and Redvales were among the worst affected in Bury as the River Irwell burst its banks following unprecedented rainfall on Boxing Day 2015.

Discussions on how to protect the areas in the future have been ongoing between Bury Council and the Environment Agency ever since.

Ivan Lewis said: “I am incredibly disappointed by this decision. The people of Radcliffe and Redvales who were affected by the flooding on Boxing Day in 2015 deserve to have the reassurance that everything possible will be done to protect their homes and their communities.

“I will write to the Minister demanding an urgent rethink of this disappointing decision. I will not let this matter rest.”

While Bury Council leader Rishi Shori said: “This is a total surprise. Only last month we had a very positive meeting with the minister.

“It is very concerning that of the 25 flood defence schemes the £36 million funding has been awarded to, some schemes protect less than 100 properties whilst the Radcliffe and Redvales scheme would have protected nearly 1,200 properties.

“I await a full explanation from the minister and we will continue to push for funding for the preventative flood defence schemes.”

The areas to benefit from the latest round of national funding have been prioritised by the Government and Environment Agency.

Announcing the £36 million funding to help 3,000 properties, Thérèse Coffey said: "This will benefit projects across the country from Hull to Gloucester, from Wolverhampton to the Wirral, that need an extra boost for flood defences to help our communities continue to prosper and grow in the future.

“Not only will this investment make places more resilient against flooding, but it will help the local economy, enhance the natural environment and protect important areas of culture."

But following the announcement, one flood victim from Radcliffe claimed: “Radcliffe is the forgotten tribe.”

Siriol Hog, another flood victim and member of Radcliffe and Redvales Flood Action Group, said: "The words ‘money pledged’ mean absolutely nothing to most seasoned flood victims. The reality is ‘lack of money' is a refrain that victims hear constantly from all agencies. It is so frustrating."

A proposed defence scheme for Bury includes a mix of hard and soft engineering including flood barriers, flood plains and replacing bridges, covering an area from Bury Grammar School to Radcliffe.

Andy Cameron, senior flood risk management advisor for the Environment Agency, said: "We have recently held a drop-in event to show the Radcliffe community our proposals and to get their comments on future flood schemes.

"We are currently working on the business case approval to enable us to move on to the next stage which would be the design aspect of the proposed scheme.

"We are aware that local MPs and councillors recently met with Thérèse Coffey to raise the profile of the Radcliffe and Redvales flood defence scheme, and to explore the option of an additional £7 million of Government funding.

"As always, we will keep the community informed of any developments regarding this and the ongoing work of the scheme itself."