Flooded house

Developers who flout planning requirements should pay flood costs, MPs warn



MPs have called for developers to be held liable for flood costs if they fail to comply with planning requirements.


In a new report addressing flooding in the UK, members of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee (EFRC) voiced concerns over the difficulty of seeking redress from developers whose buildings have been linked to floods.

The EFRC has now recommended that by the end of 2017 the government should introduce a statutory liability on developers to meet the costs of flooding should their development fail to meet planning requirements and increase flood risks.

Neil Parish MP, chair of the EFRC, said: “Building regulations must be tightened up to help flood proof our properties if a voluntary code is not agreed by the end of this year.

“Developers who flout planning rules in high flood risk areas must also be penalised."

In addition to these penalties, the report suggested that bodies with a responsibility for managing the effects of developments on surface water flows must be consulted over planning applications.

Local planning authorities have also been urged to publish an annual summary of planning decisions that have opposed advice from the Environment Agency.

The summary would reveal the action each authority had taken to monitor flood risk impacts of all developments.

Last month, it was revealed that £275bn of residential property were at risk of flooding from the Thames estuary.



1 Comments

  • Photo

    D Pratt

    Why limit this to high risk of flood areas. This should be applicable to all developments regardless as, after a development has been built this could create a flood in the adjacent properties. Creating a domino effect and a new flood area.

Leave a comment