A recent Guardian article about housing being planned in areas at risk of flooding may raise eyebrows – but an ICE expert explains how it might not be the harebrained scheme it first appears.
Building resilience is another option if there is no option but to build on flood plains. Image credit: Shutterstock
Updated: 25 November, 2021
Author: Fiona Barbour, ICE Flooding Community Advisory chair
Concern was raised earlier this week when the Guardian reported that thousands of new houses would be built on flood plains, with the housing crisis being blamed for the decision. It referred to 5,000 homes within flood risk areas in England that have been granted planning permission.
However, the Local Government Association’s housing and environment spokesman, David Renard, said almost 99% of applications were decided in line with the Environment Agency’s (EA) risk advice, while Andrew Whitaker, the planning director of the Homes Builder Federation, stated “development have to meet extremely stringent mitigation requirements”.
What I would like to understand is are these houses now at flood risk as the headline suggested? Have they been built with disregard to the flood risk? Were any of these houses replacing old houses that were already at flood risk?
The reality of each situation may be complex. The EA’s indicative flood maps are very high level, and the more detailed assessment may have identified the flooding as not as severe. The proposed mitigations may have resulted in these new houses having an acceptable level of risk. I would like to see the research, but the article does not cite the source or provider to allow me to do so.
However, the Local Government Association’s housing and environment spokesman, David Renard, said almost 99% of applications were decided in line with the Environment Agency’s (EA) risk advice, while Andrew Whitaker, the planning director of the Homes Builder Federation, stated “development have to meet extremely stringent mitigation requirements”.
What I would like to understand is are these houses now at flood risk as the headline suggested? Have they been built with disregard to the flood risk? Were any of these houses replacing old houses that were already at flood risk?
The reality of each situation may be complex. The EA’s indicative flood maps are very high level, and the more detailed assessment may have identified the flooding as not as severe. The proposed mitigations may have resulted in these new houses having an acceptable level of risk. I would like to see the research, but the article does not cite the source or provider to allow me to do so.
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