Flooding risks increased by paving front gardens
May 1 2009 by Dave Black, The Journal
HOMEOWNERS across the North East are adding to the threats posed by serious flooding by paving over their front gardens, according to a new report.
Increasing urban development – including turning grassed garden areas into hard surfaced driveways – is worsening the effects of surface water flooding on homes and businesses, it is claimed.
Studies have found that almost a quarter of front gardens in the North East are now completely paved, and that almost half are more than 75% covered with impermeable materials.
The effect is that large volumes of rainwater rapidly overload drainage networks and exacerbate flooding problems. Now the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) is calling on the Government to make changes to the planning system to ensure that all new and refurbished buildings in at-risk areas are more flood resistant and resilient.
In a new report released yesterday, ICE recommends amendments to building regulations aimed at making sure that new development doesn’t increase the risk of flooding, such as by paving over previously permeable areas.
Yesterday ICE president Jean Venables launched the report during a visit to Morpeth, Northumberland, where she toured parts of the town devastated when the River Wansbeck burst its banks last September.
She was also given details of Environment Agency plans to upgrade the town’s ageing defences by improving existing flood walls and creating upstream flood water storage areas.
The report says the effective management of surface water must be a central theme in any urban development, and should be enforceable through statutory powers. Better use needs to be made of soft landscaping, permeable paving and attenuation ponds to reduce flood risk.
Ms Venables said ICE wanted to see Government funding for flood alleviation schemes in towns such as Morpeth, but action also needs to be taken to tackle other causes of flooding.
She said the impacts of flooding could be lessened through improvements in development control, and changes such as using more flood-resilient building materials in homes and placing electrical sockets above likely flooding levels.
“If we could get some changes to building regulations it would be very significant.
“Flooding must be given greater consideration when local authorities are dealing with development requests, and planning and building regulations need to be brought in to ensure that future development does not increase the risk of flooding.
“Earlier this year, the Government gave its support for more house building in flood hazard areas on economic grounds, but this really must be tempered by careful planning and engineering.”
For more stories and for videos of the floods, go to www.journallive.co.uk /morpethfloods
