The new Housing Bill currently passing through parliament must address the issue of critical drainage and flood defence infrastructure, according to a number of construction professionals.
Civil engineers, environmental scientists and architects are among those who have banded together to lobby the House of Lords to ensure the incoming housing law protects new and existing homes from flooding.
Currently between £1.3bn and £2.2bn is spent on repairing flood damage each year in England. The group believes there is an alternative and cheaper way of addressing this ongoing issue.
The group includes the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE), the Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management (CIWEM), the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust (WWT), Institution of Environmental Sciences (IES), the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) and Water UK.
The group wants the Lords to amend the Bill so that it restricts developers’ automatic right to directly connect new houses to existing drainage systems – many of which are already overloaded – and compel them to integrate low-cost measures known as sustainable drainage systems (SuDS), which compensate for the additional flow that new developments create.
Dr Richard Benwell, head of government affairs at the Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust (WWT), said: “This bill is a test case for whether the government is serious about a joined-up approach to flood defence and environmental protection. Wales, Scotland and especially Northern Ireland have already made progress on sustainable drainage, but England is lagging behind.
“Building new homes that are naturally resilient from the outset is much more affordable than dealing with the consequences later, and can do wonders for water quality and nature. The minister should listen to the cross-party alliance of Lords supporting sustainable drainage, in the long-term interests of communities and the environment.”
