Why are houses still being built on flood plains?

Why are houses still being built on flood plains?

As there is growing pressure to find sites for housing, flood plain land is some of the cheapest available to developers.

A flood plain is an area of flat land near a river, stream, lake or other open waterway that is subject to flooding when there is significant rainfall.

Is building in a flood plain still possible?

Despite warnings from the Environment Agency and the Committee on Climate Change (CCC) between 2001 and 2011, 200,000 new houses were built on the flood plain and there are almost 500,000 homes that have been given planning permission and are waiting to be built on the flood plain.

Developers planning to build in a flood plain will be familiar with the planning requirement and they will have to undertake flood risk assessments and ensure that the development is designed in such a way as to withstand the possibility of flooding.

Will I have a problem getting insurance?

‘Flood re-insurance scheme’ – affordable home insurance

Insurers will check against databases to see if there is a risk of flooding when calculating the insurance premium but there is a ‘Flood re-insurance scheme’ – known as Flood Re to help people who live in flood risk areas get affordable home insurance.

The scheme is a collaboration between the insurance industry and the Government.

How Kerseys Can Help

If you require advice about buying or selling a property or conveyancing please call a member of our Residential Property Team.