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| Avoid building homes on floodplains, says Environment Agency head | Avoid building homes on floodplains, says Environment Agency head |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| Sir James Bevan says some new developments should never have been approved | Sir James Bevan says some new developments should never have been approved |
| The head of the Environment Agency has warned against building homes on the floodplain amid pressure on the government during the worst winter storms in years. | The head of the Environment Agency has warned against building homes on the floodplain amid pressure on the government during the worst winter storms in years. |
| Sir James Bevan said properties should not be built in flood-risk areas “as far as possible” and that some developments should never have been approved. | Sir James Bevan said properties should not be built in flood-risk areas “as far as possible” and that some developments should never have been approved. |
| Before a speech in London on Tuesday, he said: “We need to think about making our places more resilient to the flooding that will occur in the future. Part of that is making sure that as far as possible we don’t build on the floodplain.” | Before a speech in London on Tuesday, he said: “We need to think about making our places more resilient to the flooding that will occur in the future. Part of that is making sure that as far as possible we don’t build on the floodplain.” |
| The Guardian revealed on Sunday that more than 11,000 homes were planned in areas the government considers a high flood risk in the seven English regions swamped by Storms Ciara and Dennis. | The Guardian revealed on Sunday that more than 11,000 homes were planned in areas the government considers a high flood risk in the seven English regions swamped by Storms Ciara and Dennis. |
| Ministers face renewed calls to review the housing strategy as experts, local authorities and insurers warn that building in high-risk flood areas is increasing the danger to thousands of people from extreme weather, which climate scientists say will become more commonplace. | Ministers face renewed calls to review the housing strategy as experts, local authorities and insurers warn that building in high-risk flood areas is increasing the danger to thousands of people from extreme weather, which climate scientists say will become more commonplace. |
| The government also came under fire from the National Farmers’ Union which blamed a “third world” approach to water management for the devastation. | |
| NFU president Minette Batters said the government has done “nothing” in the last eight years to act on its 2012 manifesto involving more reservoirs and a national plan to transport water elsewhere to the country to meet needs. | |
| “Years of neglect has created an urgent problem,” she said. She said farmers efforts with wood dams or the introduction of beavers to naturally manage water flow was just a part of the solution. | |
| Batters said plans for English water companies to move water round the country was a start, but “the government is going to have to bit the bullet and commit major funding” to a national pipeline for water. | |
| The government aims to build 300,000 homes a year by the mid-2020s to help ease a chronic shortage across the UK. Yet local authorities say they are struggling to meet these demands because of a shortage of available land, leading to one in 10 of new homes in England being built on high-risk flood sites since 2013. | The government aims to build 300,000 homes a year by the mid-2020s to help ease a chronic shortage across the UK. Yet local authorities say they are struggling to meet these demands because of a shortage of available land, leading to one in 10 of new homes in England being built on high-risk flood sites since 2013. |
| Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Bevan also raised the possibility that some vulnerable communities on the coast and in river valleys may have to move to avoid repeated flooding. | Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Bevan also raised the possibility that some vulnerable communities on the coast and in river valleys may have to move to avoid repeated flooding. |
| He said those communities should not be “forced out” but that there needed to be a conversation about how they can be protected in the long term. | He said those communities should not be “forced out” but that there needed to be a conversation about how they can be protected in the long term. |
| In a speech on Tuesday at the World Water-Tech Innovation summit in central London, Bevan will say it is unrealistic to ban all housebuilding on floodplains given England’s geography. | In a speech on Tuesday at the World Water-Tech Innovation summit in central London, Bevan will say it is unrealistic to ban all housebuilding on floodplains given England’s geography. |
| However, he will add: “The clue is in the name: floodplain. So we can and should insist that development only happens there if there is no real alternative, that any such development doesn’t increase other people’s flood risk … and that properties built on the flood plain are flood resilient, for example with the garages on the ground floor and the people higher up.” | However, he will add: “The clue is in the name: floodplain. So we can and should insist that development only happens there if there is no real alternative, that any such development doesn’t increase other people’s flood risk … and that properties built on the flood plain are flood resilient, for example with the garages on the ground floor and the people higher up.” |
| Labour has called for an immediate end to building on land considered to be at high risk of flooding, which equates to 10% of land in England. Analysis by the Guardian found that more than 84,000 homes had been built in these high-risk flood zones between 2013 and 2018, with the annual total having doubled in that time. | Labour has called for an immediate end to building on land considered to be at high risk of flooding, which equates to 10% of land in England. Analysis by the Guardian found that more than 84,000 homes had been built in these high-risk flood zones between 2013 and 2018, with the annual total having doubled in that time. |
| England has experienced one of the wettest Februarys in 254 years of records, with some areas experiencing a month’s worth of rain in 24 hours. River levels have exceeded existing records across the country including the Severn, which is Britain’s longest river. | England has experienced one of the wettest Februarys in 254 years of records, with some areas experiencing a month’s worth of rain in 24 hours. River levels have exceeded existing records across the country including the Severn, which is Britain’s longest river. |