Memorandum submitted by Mr Tim Fairhead
(FL 158)
Last Tuesday's You and Yours consumer affairs
programme on BBC Radio 4 featured the Chairman of the Environment,
Food and Rural Affairs Select Committee, Michael Jack MP, and
he discussed the Committee's investigations into last year's severe
floods. The comments of listeners were also invited and I hope
you do not mind if I make some comments on this issue based upon
more than a decade of experience of sustainable development issues.
The 2007 summer floods in England will go down
in history as the worst since 1947 and they caused much human
misery, disrupted lives and commercial losses. Indeed, over a
dozen people tragically lost their lives and over 50,000 homes
were damaged. The total costs to householders, businesses, councils,
central government and insurers will run into billions.
In particular, the floods illustrated the current
vulnerability of certain essential utility functions such as water
pumping stations and electricity substations, the transport of
temporary flood barriers and the co-ordinated organisational responses
when it comes to dealing with unexpected flooding emergencies.
If I may, I would like to offer a few observations for consideration
having worked in the area of sustainability issues for years especially
since we are likely to see more extreme flooding and other severe
weather events in the coming decades.
LONG TERM
ADAPTATION STRATEGIES
FOR THE
DECADES AHEAD
Adaptation to extreme flooding events might
well require that a number of measure be undertaken including
improved river and drainage capacity, bypass channels, storage
wetlands, dry reservoirs which fill with flood water and other
appropriate measures including consideration of whether compensation
could be paid to landowners in deliberate sacrificial areas. There
are a couple of sources of expertise with a wealth of experience
and knowledge that the UK Government could tap into right now
and that would save much time, effort and expense.
The different ministries of the Netherlands
have had decades of experience of spatial planning on fluvial
river foreland regions and coping with flooding events. Not only
has the Netherlands had similar issues to deal with, it, like
England, has a very high population density so they are used to
dealing with the conflicting demands of land use. The relevant
Dutch ministries include the Housing, Spatial Planning and Environment
Ministry (www.vrom.nl/pagina.html?id=25089) and the Transport,
Public Works and Water Management Ministry (www.verkeerenwaterstaat.nl/english).
Here in the UK we have the renowned centre of excellence that
is Middlesex University's Flood Hazard Research Centre (www.fhrc.mdx.ac.uk).
There is the opportunity for briefings, policy
seminars and secondments and exchanges for staff from the Department
for Communities and Local Government, DEFRA, the Environment Agency,
planning authorities and regional planning bodies with their Dutch
counterparts and to take advice from the UK's Flood Hazard Research
Centre and relevant Dutch academic institutions. Indeed, it might
be worth considering putting such collaboration with the Netherlands
on a formal co-operation basis. My own professional experience
in land management conservation issues is that my Dutch colleagues
have been only too willing to share their knowledge and expertise.
PRACTICAL BUILDING
AND PLANNING
ISSUES
To its credit, the Norwich Union insurance company
has issued guidance on making a home flood resistant (www.floodresilienthome.com).
The flood resilient home has a number of features including tiled
floors, waterproof plaster, electrical sockets and wiring one
third the way up the ground floor walls, plastic skirting boards
on the ground floor and so on. It costs a lot to refit an existing
undamaged house, less when a necessary refit after a flood and
very much less if all the necessary features are already included
from the start in new build housing in potentially flood prone
areas. Making such standards mandatory is a potential option.
Ensuring that the next generation of homes are built to a higher
standard of water and energy efficiency as well will ensure that
homes make a lower climate change contribution and water demand.
These resilience measures could be extended to cover commercial,
retail and service outlets in flood prone towns by, for instance,
the Building Research Establishment and Norwich Union co-operating
to provide comprehensive advice to local businesses that are potentially
likely to be affected.
There are also some house layouts that are less
likely to suffer destructive effects and they are already being
built but their use in flood prone areas is not yet widespread.
There are the two storey coach house and three storey town house
designs where the ground floor is primarily occupied by the garage,
entrance hall and stairs so there is a much reduced risk of the
occupants' furnishing and appliances being ruined. Similarly,
new low rise designs of residential flats have been build where
the ground floor is given over entirely to parking spaces with
the residential elements starting on the first floor upwards.
Again, this means there is a potentially significant reduction
on domestic flood damage.
There is one area of great concern I am personally
aware of that is worthy of investigation. There are dozens of
cases each year where the Environment Agency is consulted on a
planning development and in response the Agency issues the highest
possible caution against building because of the extreme flood
risk only to find that this advice is then ignored by the planning
authority so storing up problems for the future. Perhaps there
is a case for making the Environment Agency advice mandatory for
the most inappropriate developments notwithstanding the move to
a call-in procedure for planning issues involving significant
flooding risks. In other cases where the Environment Agency has
significant reservations, planning consent could be conditional
upon the developer liaising with the Environment Agency so that
flood defences are built in to a development to the Agency's satisfaction
at the outset and at the developer's expense.
These planning, land use and building considerations
could all seem to indicate that it is the appropriate time for
new/significantly revised planning policy guidance and technical
advice notes on purely flood issues for all local planning authorities
in England and Wales though I appreciate that this would require
co-operation between Department for Communities and Local Government
and the Welsh Assembly Government.
The adoption of suitable strategies and advice
now will go a long way to reducing the future costs of extreme
flooding events and would result in a significant reduction in
human suffering.
Thank you very much for considering these comments.
Tim Fairhead
January 2008
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