New Housing: Flood Risk

Earl of Devon Excerpts

Thursday 26th February 2026 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Taylor of Stevenage (Lab)]

I am pleased to tell the noble Lord that 96% of all planning decisions and 99% of all new homes proposed in planning applications comply with Environment Agency advice, so we are making progress with this. I accept his point that it is very important, as we continue to work towards our target of 1.5 million new homes in this country—desperately needed because of the housing crisis—that we continue to push forward with the National Planning Policy Framework guidelines that homes should not be built in flood risk areas. The sequential test still applies to new-build homes and the planning applications for them, as does securing high-quality sustainable drainage systems to support flood risk management. It is impossible to push forward with this without sometimes using areas that might be at risk of flooding. The important thing is that the mitigation is put in place properly when that happens.

[The Earl of Devon (CB)]

My Lords, given that flood risk and housing demand are only going to increase, what steps are His Majesty’s Government taking to allow flooding and housing to coexist? Are they considering the urban planning model of sponge cities, using nature-based solutions such as permeable pavements, planted roofs and urban wetlands to absorb, store, purify and reuse rainwater to mitigate both flooding and drought?

[Baroness Taylor of Stevenage (Lab)]

I had heard about that very interesting concept. We need to make sure that all steps to mitigate flood risk are taken, even in areas that are not subject to traditional flood risk. The increase of surface floodwater is an issue and we need to make sure that, where possible, permeable surfaces are laid down. It is very helpful that both the building guidelines and the National Planning Policy Framework direct as much attention as possible to make sure that applications mitigate the flood risk when they come forward and that buildings are built with that mitigation built in.