Homes still being built in flood risk areas despite devastation caused by storms

17 January 2024 , 00:01

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More than 1,800 properties were hit by flooding earlier this month caused by Storm Henk (Image: NEIL HALL/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)

Houses are still being built in areas of high flood risk without measures in place to stop them being submerged, it has been warned.

Over half of local planning authorities revealed they had rarely or never inspected new housing developments to check their compliance with Environment Agency advice, the majority blaming a lack of resources.

The Public Accounts Committee, which highlighted the figures in a report, said it was "unforgivable to permit the building of houses in the floodplain without effective mitigation measures". It comes after more than 1,800 properties were hit by flooding earlier this month caused by Storm Henk.

The Committee also warned that the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has no way of measuring its own progress on flood resilience because it still lacks any clear targets – despite having committed to introducing a national set of indicators by spring 2022. Overall, Environment Agency forecasts indicate that at least 40% fewer properties than planned will have flood protections in place by 2027 and existing defences for some 203,000 properties have been allowed to deteriorate.

Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown MP, Deputy Chair of the Committee, said: "This inquiry has uncovered the alarming truth that in a number of ways, the approach to keeping our citizens safe in this area is contradictory and self-defeating, not least in the continuing development of new housing in areas of high flood risk without appropriate mitigations.

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"The number of properties at risk of flooding from deteriorating defences eclipsing those benefiting from new ones is another case in point. This is emblematic both of the Government's failure to strike the right balance between maintenance and construction, and of not considering the net number of properties at risk."

Liberal Democrat housing spokeswoman Helen Morgan said flood protection plans had been "shamefully neglected" by the government, with ordinary people's homes and businesses "turned upside down as a result". "Enough is enough. The Conservatives must get a grip and give communities like mine the support they deserve," she added.

Earlier this month Labour leader Keir Starmer blasted the Government's response to flooding as not "good enough" and reiterated his pledge to set up a Flood Resilience Taskforce that would ensure preventative measures were in place before every winter flooding season.

Mizy Judah Clifton