Making Space for Water
Encouraging and
Incentivising Flood Resilience
Latest news
- 20 June - Hilary Benn sets out details of Government plans to assist individuals and businesses to better protect their property from the impacts of flooding
- Final report on Defra resilience pilots grant scheme
- Final outputs of resilience R&D report prepared by Entec and Greenstreet Berman for Defra (Summary Report and two-page Technical Summary)
- Scoping report prepared by CIRIA for Environment Agency looking at scope and content of a web-tool to provide advice to homes and businesses on flood resilience
- 9 April - Insurance survey suggests that homeowners have taken few steps to protect themselves from flooding
- 7 April - Environment Agency publishes a new guide on recovering from floods, including advice on how to protect your property to minimise damage in the future
Next Steps
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Example of main appliances raised on plinths to increase resilience to flooding. Photo courtesy of Norfolk County Council. |
- Summer 2008 – final report for consultation
Introduction
The overall aim of this project is to identify new and improved ways in which the public can be encouraged to incorporate appropriate flood resilience or resistance measures in their homes and businesses. The work on flood resilience is covered by two separate projects.
Grants Pilot Scheme
The first project (RF1) involved carrying out a feasibility study on resilience grants pilots. The pilots were concentrated in areas where properties are at risk from flooding, but are unlikely to receive any flood defence schemes in the foreseeable future. The results will help to inform our understanding of the effects of financial incentives on the uptake of resistance and resilience measures. Final report of of the pilot scheme available here.
On 22 June 2007 Ian Pearson announced the first areas where Defra will be piloting grant schemes for measures which protect individual properties from flooding (more details in press notice):
- Uckfield, East Sussex
- Bleasby, Nottingham
- Sunderland Point, Morecambe, Lancs
- Kirkby-in-Furness and Appleby in Cumbria
- Dunhills Estate, Halton, Leeds (added following separate assessment of proposals)
These areas provide a range of different properties and flooding types, and information from the pilots will help Defra take a long term decision on whether such measures should feature in our long-term approach to flood risk reduction.
Encouraging the uptake of Resilience
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Example of a flood resilient room with ceramic tiled floors, walls and skirting. Photo courtesy of Norfolk County Council. |
The second project (RF2) is developing alternative methods of encouraging uptake of resistance and resilience, which covers both resistance (keeping water out) and resilience (reducing damage if water does enter a property). It has been supported by a research project undertaken for Defra by Entec and Greenstreet Berman (Summary Report and two-page Technical Summary; further technical reports will shortly be available on Defra's R&D pages).
In order to improve access to general advice about flood resistance and resilience measures, plans are progressing to develop a website to function as a first port of call for householders and businesses wishing to protect their properties from flood damage, and as an information resource offering catalogued information to help builders and other professionals stay up-to-date with recent methods and findings.
Details of the likely content, structure and development route for the website can be found in the initial scoping report (produced by CIRIA for the Environment Agency), however final decisions will be based on careful consideration of the options and funding available and will be made in discussion with partner organisations."
This project will look beyond the pilot scheme at wider measures and actions to promote the uptake of resilience and resistance measures, identifying key actions required to overcome the barriers to uptake and develop an action plan for key stakeholders to improve the uptake of potential measures. It will also be responsible for improving current information and advice available and undertaking a survey into how the public could be encouraged to take up resilience measures.
Developing better information about the most appropriate flood resilience and resistance measures will be key to increasing the uptake and enhancing their role in broader flood management. Better information will give greater confidence to households about the utility of paying for flood resilience and allow the market to function better as insurers are able to take greater account of the impact of such measures on flood risk in premiums and excesses. Additionally, work will be carried out with a number of key stakeholders to identify ways in which they can directly encourage uptake.
On 15 May 2007, the Association of British Insurers and Defra held a stakeholder workshop on flood resilience:
- Keynote address by then Minister for Climate Change and the Environment, Ian Pearson
- Notes from breakout groups on remaining barriers to flood resilience
The workshop provided stakeholders with an update on progress since the last event in November 2004 and invited stakeholders to contribute to thinking on how we address the remaining barriers to uptake.
Products
- Final report on Defra resilience pilots grant scheme
- Final outputs of resilience R&D report prepared by Entec and Greenstreet Berman for Defra (Summary Report and two-page Technical Summary)
- Scoping report prepared by CIRIA for Environment Agency looking at scope and content of a web-tool to provide advice to homes and businesses on flood resilience
- Report by independent consultant Pam Bowker, Flood Resistance and Resilience Solutions: an R&D Scoping Study (large file: 1.3mb)
- New guidance from CLG and EA on improving the flood resilience of new buildings
Useful Links
- New guidance from CLG and the Environment Agency on improving the flood resilience of new buildings
- National Flood Forum - information on resilience
- The Blue Pages - the National Flood Forum's directory of flood protection products and services
- Environment Agency - information on flood protection products and resilience
- Norwich Union's Flood Resilient Home
- ABI publications on flood resilience:
- Insurance - measures to reduce flood risk to individual properties may increase insurers' willingness to offer cover. Find out more about Defra's work with the Association of British Insurers
- CIRIA - Standards for the repair of buildings following flooding
- The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) – general information on role of RICS in flooding and new RICS guidance
For more information email: floodstrategy@defra.gsi.gov.uk
Page last modified: 20 June 2008
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published: 9 December 2005