Warning over flood plain house building

buyers purchase a flood risk report.

Four of the top 10 areas with high rates of permitting building work in prone areas were in the South East, but the highest was North Somerset in the South West on 58.18%.

Groundsure said rates of building in high-risk flood zones has steadily risen in the past two years, from 7% in 2013-14 to 9% in 2015-16.

It said that while planning conditions often include flood defence measures, homebuyers are often unaware and vulnerable when flooding occurs.

Dan Montagnani, Groundsure managing director, said: “Regardless of any flood mitigation measures required by planning and put in place, homebuyers need to consider additional risks and implications that come with buying a home built on a flood plain.

“Buyers may not fully appreciate flood risk and its impact on insurance premiums, resale valuations, future investment in the property or simply the damage flooding can cause.

“In fact, the average cost of recovering from damage from flooding is almost 30 times higher than that following a burglary.”

A Halton Council spokesman said: “All development has to prove it is safe from flooding before it gets planning consent.

“There are national and local planning policies against building in flood prone areas: the Environment Agency is a statutory consultee and objects where there is a high flood risk, we also get advice from the local lead flood authority on proposed development and the local planning authority also has to do a strategic flood risk assessment covering all land in its area.

“All this scrutiny means that flood risk is very well understood.

“It appears that Groundsure have used mapping that shows flood risks without defences or mitigation in place. For example, on Sandymoor there would be small areas shown to be at risk if existing defences were not considered.

“However, the flood basins at Wharford Farm and Oxmoor on Keckwick Brook provide areas to store excess water and prevent flooding of property.

“The reality is, therefore, that flood risk is reduced to a very low probability of impact.”