Build on flood plains despite the risks, say UK government advisers

Lord Krebs, the government’s statutory adviser on adapting to the effects of global warming, has suggested that property could continue to be constructed on flood plains as long as the attendant risks are made clear to households, local government and developers. Flood plains are often more attractive to developers because they tend to be flat, easy to build on and close to other amenities such as transport and utilities networks. The effect of such a policy on insurance is unclear. Most of the UK’s properties are supposed to be automatically protected from flood risk under a system known as Flood Re, an arrangement between the government and the insurance industry. This replaced a previous unwritten agreement whereby all homes were guaranteed flood insurance by the industry.

Homes and businesses should continue to be built on flood plains across the UK despite the increasing risks, according to government advisers on climate change.

Lord Krebs, the government’s statutory adviser on adapting to the effects of global warming, told an influential committee of MPs on Wednesday that although recent flooding has caused houses and other buildings to be inundated, property could continue to be constructed on flood plains. He said that the attendant risks and the possible devastation would have to be made clear to households, local government and developers.

The wettest ever December in the UK at the end of last year saw 16,000 properties hit by flooding, while more than 75,000 lost electricity and most northern and western parts of the UK registered more than double the average rainfall. Some uplands registered three times their average.

The committee on climate change was set up under the Climate Change Act to advise governments on meeting targets on greenhouse gas emissions and adapting to the effects of global warming.

Flood plains are often more attractive to developers because they tend to be flat and therefore easy to build on and close to other amenities such as transport and utilities networks. The UK is facing an acute housing crisis with hundreds of thousands of new dwellings needed each year to keep pace with the nation’s housing needs.

But while previous reports by the committee have warned of the dangers of building on flood plains, Krebs said that it should be possible to do so as long as property owners were made aware of the risks.

It is not known the effect such a policy would have on insurance, as most of the UK’s properties are supposed to be automatically protected from flood risk under a system known as Flood Re, an arrangement between the government and the insurance industry. This replaced a previous and unwritten agreement whereby all homes were guaranteed flood insurance by the industry.

Flooding is likely to become more common in the UK, the committee said, even if efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions are effective, because of the effects of climate change. The average national rainfall is no longer a good guide to the likely effects because instances of localised but more intense rainfall are becoming more common – an effect of climate change that has been predicted by researchers including the Met Office.

On Wednesday MPs on the environmental audit committee also asked whether the Environment Agency’s responsibilities for overseeing flooding risk in the UK should be devolved to a new body. However, the complexities of devolving such responsibility – along with problems such as drought and the environmental protection of waterways – mean it is unlikely to be discussed in the short term.

Separately, a group of former high-ranking officials from UK governmental environment bodies said that a UK exit from the EU would lead to a much worse situation in terms of environmental protection in the UK.

