Improved flood risk communications on vulnerable properties

Citation

(1998), "Improved flood risk communications on vulnerable properties", Property Management, Vol. 16 No. 4. https://doi.org/10.1108/pm.1998.11316dab.018

Improved flood risk communications on vulnerable properties

Improved flood risk communications on vulnerable properties

A Ten-minute Rule Bill which proposes how to improve flood risk communications on vulnerable properties, was introduced to the House of Commons by Sally Keeble MP, and received strong support from the Environment Agency.

The Bill aims to make sure that flood risks are made known to people moving into caravans and properties on flood plains. It proposes that a legal obligation should be placed on:

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  developers building new homes or converting buildings into dwellings;

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  people selling or renting houses;

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  owners of caravan parks or camping sites;

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  owners of hotels, hostels or guest houses;

to find out from the Environment Agency what the risk of flooding is for that property and pass this information on to the prospective buyer or tenant. In the case of caravan parks, camping sites, hotels, hostels or guest houses, the Bill proposes that the proprietor should have a legal obligation to draw up a plan of action in case of flooding, which must be approved by the local fire authority, and also to provide people staying at these sites with clear information on what to do in the case of a flood.

The Agency's Director of Water Management, Geoff Mance, said:

"Although the intensity of the Easter floods was unusually severe, the agency recognised that there may be important lessons to be learned and, therefore, immediately instigated a review under the independent chairmanship of Peter Bye.

"One of the big issues that has already been highlighted is the positioning of caravan parks and camping sites in flood risk areas, and the fact that people living or staying on these sites need to know that they are at risk from flooding.

"During the Easter floods, the emergency services had to airlift 84 people from caravan parks along the Warwickshire Avon alone ­ this may have been avoided if the owners had been better prepared. The agency, therefore, strongly supports this Bill which proposes putting the legal responsibility for getting information on the level of flood risk onto the owners, as well as a responsibility to prepare a plan of action which is communicated to people staying at such sites so that they know exactly what to do during a flood."

The Independent Review of the Easter Flooding was originally announced by the Environment Agency on 22 April 1998. It published its preliminary report on 2 June 1998, and presented its full report to the Board of the Environment Agency on 30 September 1998.

The Independent Review team, chaired by Mr Peter Bye, will report on a wide-range of matters, including:

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  establishing the extent and severity of the flooding events over the Easter weekend;

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  examining the appropriateness and effectiveness of flood warnings;

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  examining the appropriateness and effectiveness of implementation of flood emergency response procedures, including the response from third parties;

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  reviewing communications and co-operation with other public bodies, emergency services and the media.

Responsibility for dissemination of flood warnings passed to the Environment Agency on 1 September 1996, following a direction issued jointly by the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food and the Secretary of State for Wales, under section 5 of the Water Resources Act 1991.