UK Charity Says Gov't Not Doing Enough By Not Banning New Home Construction On Floodplains

MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 14th July, 2020) New UK government flood policy does not go far enough as it fails to ban home construction on floodplains, recovery and community support specialist for the UK charity National Flood Forum Heather Shepherd told The Guardian newspaper on Tuesday.

Earlier in the day, the UK government published its flood and coastal erosion risk management policy statement. Government officials called the new policy ambitious, citing an investment of 5.2 billion Pounds ($6.5 billion) in the country's flood and coastal erosion defenses over the next seven years, although the new policy does not ban the construction of new homes on floodplains.

"If you're to think of nature as a solution then our floodplains become precious and a resource to mitigate flooding. If we build on them we're taking away a natural way of managing flood risk," Shepherd told the newspaper.

According to the policy document, the government will attempt to direct development away from areas at risk of flooding, although experts told the newspaper that this message contradicts a statement released by Prime Minister Boris Johnson in late June, which pledged to rapidly construct new homes all across the country.

The United Kingdom was hit by severe flooding in many areas throughout the winter, primarily caused by Storms Ciara and Dennis, which caused roughly $450 million in damages. The Met Office declared February 2020 the country's wettest month on record, with an average rainfall of 8 inches.