Flooding ... are we moving the problem to other places?

[Workingman]

Greenpeace has released a study saying that nearly 10,000 new homes are to be built on flood zones ... nobody official is denying it and nobody seems to want to stop them. It's madness, but I have an idea.

Insurances get together and produce maps where they will not provide flood insurance to new builds. Solicitors and estate agents are forced to put a disclaimer / warning on such properties IN BOLD, WITH A HUGE TYPEFACE, AND UNDERLINED and then mortgage lenders refuse mortgages for such properties.

If stupids still want to buy such places then they sort out any future flood problems.

We do not need changes to laws or planning permissions if we act together and just apply a bit of common sense.

[TheOstrich]

That just reminded me of something so I looked it up - there's a proposed big new development south of the town, which is going to be on/near a tricky area where flooding could be possible, which I think only received planning permission on the basis that adequate flood alleviation measures were put into place by the builders. This from the builders (Taylor Wimpey) website:
https://www.taylorwimpey.co.uk/proposed ... am-meadows

Gillingham Meadows
Land off Addison Close - Gillingham - Dorset - SP8 4JS

Taylor Wimpey received outline planning permission for a residential development of up to 90 new homes on land to the east of Lodden Lakes, Gillingham, Dorset in May 2015.
A Reserved Matters Application was submitted in April 2018. Taylor Wimpey will be working closely with North Dorset District Council through the application process for a decision in Summer 2018
The development site
The proposed development site covers an area of approximately 3.85 hectares and is bordered by Lodden Lakes to the south-west. Existing residential properties off Addison Close lie to the north, with the River Lodden located to the east of the site.
Our proposals are on land allocated for housing by the council in its Local Plan. The proposed scheme is self-contained, but will integrate with the wider urban extension plans proposed for Gillingham.

Flood Risk and Preliminary SuDS Drainage
The majority of the proposed development site is located in Flood Zone 1, which means it is at the lowest possible risk of flooding from rivers and other significant watercourses. The eastern section of the site alongside the River Lodden falls within Flood Zones 2 & 3, therefore no development is proposed for this location. This area will be used as public open space and as a wildlife refuge.

A Sustainable Urban Drainage System (SuDS) will form part of our proposals. Due to the impervious nature of the site’s geology, that being Kimmeridge Clay Formation, it is unlikely we will be able to utilise infiltration to deal with site run-off in our SuDS scheme. This does not, however, mean we cannot utilise SuDS on the site in other forms. These may include porous paving in carpark court yards or driveways and conveyance swales to open space flow attenuation features, such as dry swales and/or wet ponds. This will assist in reducing the rate of surface water run-off from the development to be no greater than current greenfield rates and will assist in reducing the increased risk of flooding, from the increased impermeable area, both on the site and downstream.

Surface run-off from the development is one thing, but I'd be wary that there's at least 2 tributaries of the Stour merging with the main river just before the site. The local effect of a "storm" like we've seen recently up north could be quite interesting ….

[Kaz]

There are definitely parts of Gloucester that are built on, that never should have been - and they paid the price in 2007

[Suff]

Most interesting for me is the way things went in Lincoln. The Witham got 10 foot banks after 53, in the Hykeham/lower Waddington area. The last time it was at the height I saw 2 weeks ago Brant Road flooded (lower Hykeham). This time it did not.

I'm quite willing to believe that they were using pumping to keep the Bayford in Lincoln below flooding and, as a by effect, keeping the Witham below flooding.

On another note, as the atmosphere warms it can absob rmore water. We have increased global temps by 1C, on average, since Pre industrial times and are working hard on another. 5C.