[cashman]

Originally Posted by Exile on Spencer St

That may be more down to sloppy research behind some TV so-called documentaries and/or the TV talking heads deliberately misunderstanding the difference between a flood plain and a flood zone.

According to the Environment Agency’s flood mapping, EVERYWHERE is in Flood Zone, which range from Zone 1 (low probability; 1 in 1000) to Zone 3 (high probability; 1:100 chance of flooding in any one year).
So, every house that’s ever been built is in one Flood Zone or another.

It’s virtually impossible to get approval to build houses in Zone 3 and Zone 3b is classed as ‘functional flood plain’.

Where, under exceptional circumstances, new housing is allowed in Zone 2 in my experience there are too many agencies and people involved in decision making to simply get away with bunging some local councillor a brown envelope.

Having said that, the EA’s Flood zone mapping is notoriously unreliable. Basically it works on past flood events and, where there haven’t been any, uses contours and river levels to guesstimate the extent of a 1 in 100 year downpour. Which is why, following extensive flood risk assessments, some housing developments do end up being approved in Zone 2.

The Somerset Levels have been functional flood plains for millennia and were flooded a few years ago, causing great distress to both residents and David Cameron’s government. Afterwards, for once, the latter listened to local knowledge, not theoretical EU eco-dogma, and allowed rivers to be dredged, as they had always been in the past. And, so far in this year of very exceptional rain fall, that area has not seen similar flooding.

wasnt a documentary twas on the press report on sky mate,