The Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA) has released its ‘Property Flood Resilience Action Plan’. The Government department says it’s to help protect properties from flooding.
A web portal, www.centre4resilience.org, has been set up; and the insurance trade body Association of British Insurers (ABI) has produced a 12-page consumer guide to resilient flood repair.
The plan’s report admitted that take-up of flood resilient measures remains low. “It is not yet normal practice for properties in areas at high flood risk to be made more resilient following a flood.”
The document describes Property Level Resilience (PLR) – covering the physical and mental impacts of flooding. “Actions that can be taken include installing flood doors, flood barriers, air brick covers, pointing or waterproofing brickwork, installing non-return valves, and moving vulnerable features such as sockets above floor level.”
Floods Minister Thérèse Coffey said: “The impact of flooding on people’s lives is not just financial, it can be emotionally devastating. This new action plan brings business and government together so it will be easier for people to take action to better protect themselves and their properties. Our unprecedented £2.5 billion investment in flood defences will better protect 300,000 properties from floods by 2021. But property-level measures are key to ensuring those who are unfortunate enough to suffer flooding can get back in their homes and businesses sooner and minimise the impact.”
The plan’s chairman is Dr Peter Bonfield, the CEO of the building research body BRE. He said: “The Action Plan will help to give people and businesses the means to reduce the chances of their lives and livelihoods being disrupted by flooding. This is about both stopping the floodwaters getting in, and speeding recovery when it does. This action plan goes hand in hand with other recent announcements, like the broader National Flood Resilience Review. Both help ensure the country is better prepared for future flood events.”
To view the 48-page plan, visit https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/improving-property-level-flood-resilience-bonfield-2016-action-plan.
Comment
Mary Dhonau is Chief Executive of the Know Your Flood Risk Campaign. She asked where on earth should people start? “We’ve therefore launched a new edition of the Homeowners’ Guide to Flood Resilience, which includes a much-needed design of a flood resilient prototype home that walks readers through all the interventions that can be taken. Having been flooded myself on many occasions I know just how appalling flooding is and the hardest part is the recovery. With people spending an average of nine months out of their homes after a flood occurring, I’ve made it my personal mission to help people reduce this time and by taking the steps included in the Guide, recovery time can be dramatically reduced.” Visit www.knowyourfloodrisk.co.uk.
