WWT welcomes Government's new homes flooding announcement
Rain runs off the roofs and parking spaces - into a wildlife-rich wetland
Rules to stop new homes in England from causing flooding might not be working, so the Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust (WWT) is welcoming a Government announcement to review them.
New homes can cause flooding because they replace open land, which soaks in rainwater slowly, with surfaces that rainwater runs off quickly like roofs, patios and driveways. This increased speed and volume of rainwater off thousands of new homes can overwhelm our drainage systems.
The Government announced it will review law and policy on new homes connecting to mains drainage in response to an amendment to the Housing & Planning Bill, a Bill which aims to help build a million homes by 2020.
The amendments, tabled by Baroness Parminter, Lord Krebs and Baroness Young, had proposed that all new homes should absorb rainwater onsite by using features like soak-away chambers, ponds or green roofs rather than connecting to drains which often have limited capacity to take more water.
WWT Head of Government Affairs, Dr Richard Benwell said:
“We welcome this step forward on flood mitigation in England. The case for strengthening the legal requirements for sustainable drainage in new homes is compelling and has been supported by a wide group of experts from across the industry and across the political spectrum.
This review must run rapid and deep, finding out what’s happening on the ground in time to make sure that the new homes we need are delivered in a way that is safe and environmentally sound - especially in our increasingly erratic climate. We look forward to clear evidence and appropriate action from Government next year”
Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales have all made greater progress than England regarding policy to promote sustainable drainage. In Scotland SuDS are now a general requirement; in Northern Ireland a Bill to end the automatic right to connect to drains was passed earlier this year; and Wales has extensive standards for sustainable drainage.
Meanwhile Defra impact assessments show that sustainable drainage is often cheaper than conventional ‘hard piped’ alternatives, even before the additional flood defence, water quality, biodiversity and recreation benefits sustainable drainage can provide are added in.
Read the Housing & Planning Bill debate during which the Government announced its review.
