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Don’t build on flood plains

  • by JW

Building in high-risk areas has more than doubled in recent years

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More and more housing is being built where it shouldn’t be built, so reports the Guardian:

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One in 10 new homes in England built on land with high flood risk

Number of properties built in high-risk areas has more than doubled in recent years

In the aftermath of the devastating Storms Ciara and Dennis, experts and council leaders have warned that residents are being left at risk in part due to the pressure on local authorities to build thousands of new homes despite a dearth of suitable sites.

One in 10 new homes in England built on land with high flood risk | theguardian.com

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Fortunately, the Sid Valley doesn’t face the problem of having too much housing on areas prone to flooding.

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However, much of Eastern Town has historically been hit by floods:

Futures Forum: Gerald Counter’s Sidmouth: an insight into Eastern Town

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And so any development would have to take this into account:

Futures Forum: Plans for Port Royal: ‘further investigations in respect of flooding and covenants’ needed

Futures Forum: Plans for Port Royal: of sewers and sewerage

Futures Forum: Plans for Port Royal and the Eastern Town >>> apartments over car parks

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And there are fears that housing on areas up-stream can cause flooding down-stream:

Flooding issues in Sidmouth: part 2

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Meanwhile, there is the plan to build an industrial estate on fields very much prone to flooding:

google maps: Sidford

 

Sidford Business Park reports, planning appeal upheld

Futures Forum: Sidford business park > Fords planning application > 16/0669/MOUT > Environment Agency appears to contradict its own guidance on flooding and climate change > EA to reply to SVA

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Unfortunately, the planning authorities often see ‘development’ as the priority – regardless of where, as reported in these news pages:

Flooding and development in East Devon

Unsustainable over-development in East Devon

And on the Futures Forum blog:

Futures Forum: Flooding in the West Country… and development

Futures Fourm: Flooding and building houses

Futures Forum: Flooding and East Devon… … and riding roughshod over the concerns of locals

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But there are creative ways to deal with the risk:

Resilient responses to reverse the effects of urban flooding

Urban design and climate change

On the River Otter: successful rewilding of the beaver