Residents on the Glasdir estate in Ruthin, Wales have spoken of their fury at their homes being flooded, having being given assurances that they were not at risk, despite the housing development being built on a flood plain.
Ben Furlong, Environmental Consultant for Argyll Environmental, said the practice of building in flood plains has left a legacy of homes and home owners having to face the devastating consequences of flooding.
It has been previously estimated that 5.2 million properties in the UK are at risk of flooding and a recent report by Defra estimated this number is set to increase given increasingly erratic weather patterns attributable to climate change.
“New development guidance has been introduced by the Government which aims to reduce the practice of developing in flood plains and ensure that all developments minimise their own exposure to flood risk and do not exacerbate flood risk to neighbouring properties,” he said.
“In addition, many Local Authorities have developed Strategic Flood Risk Assessment reports and policies to identify areas at high risk, which should be freely available on their websites.
“The unfortunate events which occurred at the Glasdir estate demonstrate the importance of home owners not relying solely on what property developers tell them. It is vital to obtain independent and comprehensive flood risk screening reports which consider all of the main sources of flooding - river, coastal, surface water and ground water. Such reports are easy to understand and give appropriate recommendations for further actions or preparedness.
“It is impossible to prevent such incidents of extreme weather as we have seen in Ruthin but the risk can be reduced through a combination of flood protection measures and flood warnings.
“Perhaps the most important lesson that can be learned here is that it is the combined responsibilities of home owners, property developers, local authorities and the Environment Agency to ensure the necessary steps are taken to know, understand and mitigate against flood risk.”
