The final hurdle in Marlow’s long-awaited flood protection scheme has been overcome after the £8.5 million project officially received the green light.

Thames Regional Flood and Coastal Committee (RFCC) announced late last year it would allocate funding, and today formally confirmed it would foot the remaining £4m bill.

Work is now set to begin in June on a series of flood walls, pumps and containment lakes to protect around 300 homes between Pound Lane and Fairview and the River Thames.

Residents forced from their homes when river levels rose to near-record levels said they were "thrilled" by the news, after campaigning for the cash to be found.

Lesley Clarke, cabinet member for environment and planning at Buckinghamshgire County Council, which has pledged £1.25m to the scheme, said: “This is an excellent example of working together speedily to identify funding for a critically important scheme.

“This really is good news for our hard-hit residents, whose lives became a misery last winter. I applaud their resilience.”

Today, a consortium confirmed that the remaining £4m would come from the RFCC Local Levy, a £10.5m fund supported by councils in the Thames Valley.

As well as BCC, the Government is contributing £3.25m and Marlow Town Council £60,000.

Wycombe District Council will provide officer time and expertise.

Marlow was badly hit by last year’s floods, with authorities coming together soon afterwards to thrash out the funding allocation for the Environment Agency (EA) Scheme.

EA operations manager and Marlow resident Barry Russell told the Free Press investigative work is already underway to finalise the designs.

The cost has been estimated at between £6.5m and £8.m, depending on revisions.

Planning permission for the project – which was granted in 2010 – runs out this year, with teams battling to get construction started before the permission period lapses.

It is hoped the barriers will be in place in time for the winter of 2017.