2012 rain

[biffvernon]

The Met office has released it provisional figures for rain in 2012

http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/news/releas ... statistics

Wettest England year and 2nd wettest UK year after, by 7mm, year 2000.

[kenneal - lagger]

As you said in another post, Biff, it's the spread of rainfall that is different. In the past rain has been concentrated in the high ground areas of the west but now we have huge amounts, and the resulting flooding, all over the country.

In the west and north of the country they are more used to the high rainfall and have traditionally built away from flood prone areas. In the south, because we haven't had large amounts of rainfall recently, we have built on flood plains and in areas which are prone to flash floods because we have forgotten what those areas suffer in times of heavy, prolonged rain. They have been built on recently because we have forgotten the folk memories of what that bit of vacant land was for.

The stupid thing is that we are still allowing builders to use these bits of vacant land and the government is trying to make the insurance industry, and hence us, pay out for flood events. Builders who build on flood prone land should be made to declare this in the legal searches prior to sale. If anybody buys the house then they should just have to take the rap themselves.

Not many people would buy these houses because, with a declaration of being flood prone, no building society would lend on that house. Builders probably wouldn't be able to get loans to cover the building in the first place unless they built some flood resilience into the homes in the first place.

The newish River and Rowing Museum in Henley is built on the flood plain next to the Thames but is built on stilts about a metre above the ground. It's a beautiful building and looks great and in context. Houses built like this would also be equally viable but the extra cost would either have to be paid for by the customer or by a much reduced land price.

We will see what happens won't we. Making insurance companies pay is just not viable.

[PS_RalphW]

If you need to to build of flood plains, why not build the houses on flood resistant foundations high enough to withstand the estimated 100 year flood? Adding 2-3 feet of wall and a higher DPC and an insulated, suspended floor can't be that expensive.

[biffvernon]

It's not quite so simple, Ken. The Environment Agency maps make it clear where the identified flood risk zones are and this would come up in searches prior to purchase. Part of the problem is that much of the flood risk zones never experience a flood and places not so identified sometimes get flooded.

[RenewableCandy]

The flood-prone areas also move around. If they build the 700-house flood-prone development on the S edge of York, for example, they'll include flood defences...of the sort that just push the water elsewhere. That way, even people who have chosen wisely will be made to suffer.

[kenneal - lagger]

If you build in a flood zone you are required to mitigate the building by providing the same volume of storage at the same level elsewhere on your site. On this basis, if you're building a single house you would have to calculate the volume of the house that sits in the flood and dig out a similar volume at the same level somewhere else on your site. If you can't do that you are refused permission. It would seem that if you're a major builder you can just ignore this requirement then.

Zed Factory designed a house for areas prone to flooding that were built up off the ground by a storey and that ground floor storey was used as a car port/garage with access stairs to the first floor where all the damp proofing occurred. The habitable area was therefore at least 2.4 metres above ground level and the volume in the flood zone and the obstruction to flow was minimal.

[JohnB]

Zed Factory designed a house for areas prone to flooding that were built up off the ground by a storey and that ground floor storey was used as a car port/garage with access stairs to the first floor where all the damp proofing occurred. The habitable area was therefore at least 2.4 metres above ground level and the volume in the flood zone and the obstruction to flow was minimal.

That's also what was done with these house at Great Bow Yard in Langport, Somerset, as they are next to the river. I'm not sure about the other buildings on the same site though.