New flood protection plans ‘will prevent £32bn damage’

HOMEOWNERS in flood-prone areas will get higher insurance payouts to fund improvements to make their homes more resilient under the Government’s first major flooding strategy in a decade.

The Government is also expected to make it harder for new homes to be built on flood plains under a £5.2billion strategy that reflects a new emphasis on adapting to a future of more extreme flooding as a result of climate change.

The strategy includes plans to plant trees and restore wetlands and peatlands that can absorb floodwaters as well as contribute to the environment, and the creation of reservoirs that can also be used to store water.

“Our record investment and ambitious policies will better protect homes, schools, hospitals and businesses, but we also recognise that we cannot prevent flooding entirely, which is why we will ensure that communities at high risk are more resilient,” George Eustice, the Environment Secretary, said.

Government predictions put sea level rise at 1.15 metres in London by the end of the century. Boris Johnson, the Prime Minister, said the plan “will help push back the flood waters and protect hundreds of thousands of homes, businesses and livelihoods”.

The investment includes the creation of around 2,000 new flood and coastal defences which Defra says will better protect 336,000 properties including hospitals and schools by 2027, avoiding £32 billion of damage.

Hannah Cloke, a professor of hydrology of the University of Reading, who advised the Government’s National Flood Resilience Review, said; “Making such a statement, even in rhetoric, risks giving people a false impression of what is possible.”

She added: “Worse flooding is on the cards. We will need to learn to live with floods more and more.”

Under the Government’s proposals, the Flood Re re-insurance scheme, which is run by the insurance industry and covers homes that are most vulnerable, will be modified to allow discounted premiums to households that have flood resilience measures fitted. Changes would also see payout claims include additional funds to help homeowners install such measures.

But the strategy contains no measures to modify home building targets, which many councils blame for encouraging development in flood-prone areas. The Environmewnt Agency says the number of homes on flood plains will double in the next 50 years.