Flood Defences: what will feature in the Chancellor’s Budget?

Here at Landmark, as members of the Know Your Flood Risk campaign, we are fully behind the latest announcement from the ‘Flood Free Homes’ campaign, which urges the Chancellor to think ahead in terms of increasing spending on flood defences and maintenance, in this week’s Budget.

The Flood Free Homes campaign was launched by the Association of British Insurers, and is supported by Friends of the Earth, National Flood Forum, the Property Care Association’s Flood Protection Group, the BRE Centre for Resilience and, of course, the Know Your Flood Risk campaign.

Its aim is to raise the issue of long-term flood defence investment and land and water management, and so the campaign believes that the Budget needs to “set the tone” for future Spending Reviews so that protection against future flooding is seen as a national priority.

Commenting on the news, Mary Dhonau OBE, who is Chief Executive of the Know Your Flood Risk Campaign said: “Having been flooded myself, I know only too well how devastating it can be! It is essential that spending on flood risk and climate change is prioritised by the next Government. Our infrastructure is woefully inadequate and needs urgent investment to make it fit for purpose for both now and in the future!”

Mary Dhonau OBE

Continues Mary: “We set up the Know Your Flood Risk Campaign several years ago to help people understand their current and future flood risk.  We not only provide free guidance on how to work out your potential risk, but offer access to a wealth of guides and reports on how to prepare, prevent or recover from incidences of flooding.   As well as an interactive website and free mobile app, visitors can also purchase a property-specific flood risk assessment that provides a clear picture on current risks related to a property or its wider locality.”

www.knowyourfloodrisk.co.uk

Flood Free Homes

I have firsthand experience of being repeatedly flooded out of my home. The ravages of floodwater can have far-reaching consequences for everyone affected, not only in terms of the physical damage caused but also less obvious issues, such as stress and depression.

The first bleak walk back into your waterlogged home is so hard to comprehend, if you’ve not been through it yourself. Your belongings are covered with a thick brown sludge, your furniture is sodden and your home stinks. You watch helplessly as everything you have worked so hard for is thrown into a skip. Worse still, you lose items that no insurance policy can ever replace: a child’s first drawings; photographs of relatives who are no longer with us; and it is these experiences that are heart-breaking.

"Since the 1990’s, when my first flood happened, I have spoken to and visited countless people who have their lives devastated by being flooded. They have spoken to me of their utter despair at having lost their home, their ‘sanctuary’, in this way. Flood water is a silent, indiscriminate burglar that takes no prisoners, and doesn’t care whether its victims are the young, old, disabled, rich or poor. It seems to malevolently wreck the lives of thousands of people, year in, year out. It is impossible to put an accurate price tag on the cost of being flooded, but so many people tell me that it the worst singular experience in their lives and the memory of it will stay with them forever.

Extreme weather events are becoming too common place to be ignored, and flooding is the biggest natural threat faced by the UK. It is my belief that flooding is already happening more regularly and last winter’s endless TV footage clearly demonstrated the demands made on our country by the wettest winter on record accompanied by high tidal surges. Never has it been more essential to invest in both building and maintaining flood defences. If we are to avoid vast swathes of the country being brought to its knees on a regular basis then we must invest heavily in all aspects of flood risk management.

In this small country of ours, we have already built too many homes in inappropriate places and the knock on effect on individuals and communities has been devastating and costly. It is time to put an end to this short-sighted irresponsibility. We urgently need a cross party consensus for managing floods, one that will address all forms of flood risk, one with an ambitious  long term goal that will embrace innovation and investment to reduce flood risk."

Mary Dhonau OBE HonRICS

Chief Executive Know Your Flood Risk Campaign

Chair of the Flood Protection Group The Property Care Association

‘Mary Queen of Floods’ makes waves at Whitehall

Reception held at the House of Commons heard calls for an end to housing development on flood plains and increased flood risk funding

On January 20th, the Association of British Insurers (ABI) launched its Flood Free Homes campaign, which raises the issue of long term investment in flood defence and land and water management. ABI is calling for £1 billion per year to be spent on managing flood risk by 2025; cross party consensus on long term solutions; and an end to new developments in areas at risk of flooding. The campaign launched at the House of Commons yesterday, is supported by Know Your Flood Risk, Friends of the Earth, National Flood Forum, the Property Care Association’s Flood Protection Group.

Mary Dhonau, OBE, chief executive of Know Your Flood Risk, was asked to speak at the House of Commons reception, attended by forty MPs. Mary met with Roger Williams, MP, to discuss the current risk to homeowners, based on the latest flood risk modelling data, and joined ABI’s call for an end to housing development on flood plains and an increase in government funding for flood risk management.

Know Your Flood Risk works to raise awareness of flood risk, by lobbying the government and the insurance industry and providing homeowners and businesses with practical guidance on their risk of flooding and how to mitigate the risk of their properties being flooded. As part of its mission to inform home owners of the risk to their property, Know Your Flood Risk works with major data providers, including Landmark Information Group, to maintain up to date flood risk modelling data and ensure that property owners have access to information on the different types and levels of flood risk. 

Environment Agency data shows that approximately 2 million homes in England and Wales are at risk of river and sea flooding, with an additional 2.4 million homes at risk of surface water flooding. One in four homes in the UK are at risk of surface water flooding and ground water flooding, as well as wave overtopping. However, a survey undertaken by the Know Your Flood Risk Campaign revealed that 83 per cent of homeowners do not believe their homes are at risk of flooding and 68 per cent had no measures in place to minimise the risk to their home. Importantly, although 95 per cent of homeowners surveyed by Know Your Flood Risk had contents insurance, 45 per cent do not know whether their insurance policy covers flood damage. 

In addition to advising homeowners on their flood risk, Know Your Flood Risk provides information and support on flood recovery and general flood resilience via its acclaimed guides. As part of its bid to educate homeowners and businesses on their flood risk, Know Your Flood Risk provides access to flood reports, powered by Landmark Information Group’s flood risk data, which enables owners to assess the flood risk to their individual property.

Explaining the key issues behind the Know Your Flood Risk campaign, Mary Dhonau said, “Never has it been more essential to invest in both building and maintaining flood defences. If we are to avoid vast swathes of the country being brought to its knees on a regular basis, then we must invest heavily in all aspects of flood risk management.”

“Too many homes have been built in inappropriate places and the knock on effect on individuals and communities has been devastating and costly. We urgently need a cross party consensus for managing floods, one that will address all forms of flood risk, one with an ambitious  long term goal that will embrace innovation and investment to reduce flood risk.”

In follow up to the reception at the House of Commons, Mary Dhonau will publish a blog on ABI’s Flood Free Homes campaign website, in which she shares her personal experiences of having her home flooded and echoes ABI’s calls for increased investment in flood defences and flood risk management and an end to building new properties in areas at risk of flooding.

Flood Defence Spending: BBC Radio Five Live

In advance of the Flood Defence Expo (4-5 December, London Excel), Mary Dhonau, chief executive of the Know Your Flood Risk campaign was invited as a guest on to BBC Radio Five Live's Breakfast show to discuss today's news regarding a £2.3bn investment in flood defences.

In an interview with Adam Parsons, Mary Dhonau discusses what the £2.3bn investment will mean for certain regions of the UK, which has been announced by the Treasury as part of the 2014 National Infrastructure Plan.

The full interview can be listened to using the BBC Five Live 'listen again' feature, during the next four weeks: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b04sv04v - (click to 01:49:00)

Mary Dhonau OBE

For more details regarding the Treasury's announcement, click here:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-30282701

For more details regarding the Know Your Flood Risk Campaign, or to access a free Flood Resilience Guide, visit: http://www.knowyourfloodrisk.co.uk/

What Is It Like To Flood?

On the 4th and 5^th of December, the Flood Defence & Prevention Expo presents a range of solutions to widespread flooding problems from many of the UK’s leading flood prevention companies and experts.  The two day-event, which is taking place at the Excel Centre in London, is also hosting an extensive seminar and workshop programme to highlight new, cost-effective ways to help prevent and manage floods.

Mary Dhonau OBE, Chief Executive of the ‘Know Your Flood Risk’ campaign – which is supported by Landmark Information Group – will be speaking at the event.   During the Flood Defence Expo, Mary will be discussing what it's like to flood, how to plan, prepare and mitigate for it. 

Mary has been flooded herself on many occasions and has extensive experience in supporting and advising the victims of flooding during their recovery.

Mary Dhonau OBE

Explains Mary: “Being flooded is an appalling experience! The presentation will describe what individuals who do flood have to go through and will go on to give examples of how to plan, prepare, mitigate and become resilient to being flooded. I will also be urging everyone to download a copy of Know Your Flood Risk’s free Guide to Flood Resilience, which is the best guide of its type in the country for providing practical, hands-on advice to identifying your risk, through to putting measures in place to resist and overcome future floods from impacting your lives.”

Mary has represented the ‘voice of the flood victim’ for many years and is affectionately known as `Mary Queen of Floods`. She was awarded an OBE for services to the environment in the Queen`s Birthday Honours list in 2009.

In addition to her role as Chief Executive of Know Your Flood Risk, Mary also chairs the Flood Protection Group for the Property Care Association, and is a member of the Regional Flood and Coastal committee for Anglian Northern.   She also runs a consultancy (MD Associates) specialising in raising awareness of flood risk, how to militate against it and recover from it.

Mary’s presentation takes place on Thursday 4 December @ 14:00 in Seminar Hall Three.

To find out more about the Flood Defence Expo or to book tickets to attend, visit http://www.flooddefenceexpo.co.uk/.