National Audit Office
Hard copies available from The Stationery Office on 0845 702 3473 or via the NAO website at www.nao.gov.uk
The atrocious weather at the end of last year and beginning of this, saw many buildings under threat from flood for the first time ever. Other areas which had not experienced flooding for a century were soon underwater. The National Audit Office published a report highlighting the dangers of flooding to two million homes and buildings in Britain.
The report, Inland flood defence, covers many aspects of the costs and consequences of flooding. For example, current inland and coastal flood defences are estimated to reduce the annual cost of damage as a result of flooding by over £2 billion. This balances positively with the annual investment in flood defence of £400 million. However, the report says that those building in areas prone to flooding should take the possibility of flooding seriously: "Awareness of flood risk – among the five million people who live or work in areas at risk, those responsible for flood risk activity and those planning to build in areas at risk – can be the single most important defence against the worst effects of flooding."
National Audit Office Head, Sir John Bourn identified four priority tasks for those delivering the flood defence service. From the point of view of developers and the construction industry, his key point is that: "Completing and modifying flood risk maps and considering how the costs may be shared by developers – recent floods have raised concerns that further or inappropriate development in the floodplain will lead to more extensive flooding."
Source
Building Sustainable Design
