The Environment Agency is warning that the UK needs to spend £1 billion to tackle the growing risk of flooding due to climate change which could see some UK towns ultimately abandoned.

The Agency is preparing for a 4°C rise in global temperature and has today launched a consultation on a major long-term strategy for the UK to tackle flooding and coastal change.

Launching the strategy at Brunel University in London,, EA Chair Emma Howard Boyd said that the Environment Agency is preparing for a potential 4°C rise in global temperature and urgent action is needed to tackle more frequent, intense flooding and sea level rise. The EA Chair warned:

“We can’t win a war against water by building away climate change with infinitely high flood defences.”

According to the Agency, in some cases, the scale of flooding or coastal change may be so significant the concept of ‘build back better’ may not be appropriate. This may mean potentially moving communities at risk out of harm’s way in the longer term.

Over 5 million people in England are already at risk from flooding and coastal erosion, yet only a third of people who live in areas at risk of flooding believe their property is at risk. Climate change and population growth are set to double the number of properties built on flood plains over the next 50 years.

Emma Howard Boyd said that while the coastline has never stayed in the same place and there have always been floods, climate change is increasing and accelerating theThe  threats.

“We need to develop consistent standards for flood and coastal resilience in England that help communities better understand their risk and give them more control about how to adapt and respond”, she added.

Currently, two thirds of properties in England are served by infrastructure in areas at risk of flooding - for every person who suffers flooding, around 16 more are affected by loss of services such as power, transport and telecommunications. The strategy is calling for all infrastructure to be flood resilient by 2050 and the Environment Agency will work with risk management authorities and infrastructure providers to achieve this.

The Agency has committed to working with partners to develop consistent standards for flood and coastal resilience across the country. To achieve the standards, the EA says that communities should have access to a range of tools which give them control of how they prepare for and respond to flooding and coastal change, based on the challenges or flood risk that particular location may face.

These could include traditional defences, temporary barriers, natural flood management, sustainable drainage systems, effective flood warnings and emergency response, alongside designing and adapting existing properties and new development so they can recover quickly from a flood.

In addition to resilience measures, an average of £1 billion will need to be invested each year in traditional flood and coastal defences and natural flood management. The National Audit Office has previously reported that for every £1 spent on protecting communities, around £9 in property damages and wider impacts is avoided.

As well as taking precautions to prepare for flooding and prevent damage, the strategy calls for more to be done to encourage property owners to ‘build back better’ after a flood.

This could involve home improvements to make them more resilient, such as raised electrics, hard flooring and flood doors. The Environment Agency will work with government, insurers and financial institutions to review how to bring about this change by 2025.

However, it also acknowledges that in some cases, the scale of flooding or coastal change may be so significant the concept of ‘build back better’ may not be appropriate. This may mean potentially moving communities out of harm’s way in the longer term.

The strategy also recommends:

• With properties built in the flood plain likely to double over the next 50 years, between now and 2030 all new development must be resilient to flooding and coastal change.
• Flooding and coastal change projects should support local economic regeneration, unlocking potential for new housing and business.
• All new development must not only be resilient to flooding but should also contribute to an environmental net gain.
• Government, the Environment Agency and risk management authorities need to be agile to the latest climate science, growth projections, investment opportunities and other changes to our local environment.

Lord Deben, Chairman of the Committee on Climate Change, which this week published a major report calling for net zero UK carbon emissions by 2050, said that “everyone can see climate change accelerating and that “the UK urgently needs to stay ahead of worsening impacts by adapting.”

Sir John Armitt, Chair of the National Infrastructure Commission described climate change as “a real and growing threat to our way of life” which is nowhere “felt more keenly than those parts of the country facing an increased risk of flooding.”

In July 2018 the Commission published the first-ever National Infrastructure Assessment which called on the Government to put in place a long-term strategy to deliver a nationwide standard of flood resilience by 2050 - with funding for flood risk management increasing significantly over the coming decades.

Sir John said:

“In many cases, we won’t be able to stop flooding and coastal erosion. But that doesn’t mean we should just accept it. We must ensure that communities are resilient and as our Assessment showed, this is affordable and achievable.”

“It’s essential that the government’s National Infrastructure Strategy, published this autumn as part of the Spending Review, adopts our recommendation and backs this up with a robust and effective plan for funding and delivery. “

Deadline to submit responses to the consultation, which will run for the next eight weeks, is 4 July 2019 - click here to download the consultation paper.

Once the consultation has closed, the Environment Agency will review the responses and publish a final document which will then be laid before Parliament in winter 2019.

Click here to access the long-term investment scenario 2019 (LTIS) economic assessment showing what future flood and coastal erosion risk management (FCERM) could look like over the next 50 years in England.