Ok so I've ran it another 10 times and the logs are having errors.. I redownloaded the original mod, and only copied in and added my stuff to the improvements.xml and didn't touch the modinfo on the original mod that worked. And I've cleared my logs every time, and not once and I having unit maintenance or being able to remove floodplains (I've started quick new games every time to make sure there wasn't an error or a conflict), and the mod I was trying was the only one active!! I'm ready to go crazy! I mean, it's so simple just editing the base file, but I really want to know what I'm doing wrong now!!!
This file should be working, it's the code from what you posted (Which is the same as I had in the end), and the modinfo that runs, with no extra files added.