Government urged not to build homes in flood and coastal risk areas
The Government should reform flood and coastal erosion risk management policy to protect vulnerable communities and deliver sustainable housing and economic growth.
That’s according to the latest Bricks & water report, published by cross-party think tank Policy Connect following an inquiry by the Westminster Sustainable Business Forum.
Bricks & water: flood and coastal erosion risk management policy for a new government made 11 recommendations spanning the areas of planning, flood defence spending, coastal change and property flood resilience.
The background includes continuing building in flood and coastal risk areas; increasing incidents of flooding – the winter of 2023/24 saw the highest number of named storms since records began; and Labour’s twin commitments to build 1.5m homes over the next five years and to adopt a long-term, strategic approach to managing flood risk.
Baroness McIntosh of Pickering, inquiry chair, said: “The new Government plans to build 300,000 houses per year during this Parliament. However, throughout this inquiry, we have heard that new homes are continuing to be built within areas of high flood risk and coastal change, often against the advice of the Environment Agency. The Government’s forthcoming agenda for planning reform must not come at the expense of safeguards that protect communities from flooding.”
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