New Housing: Flood Risk

Lord Blencathra Excerpts

Thursday 26th February 2026 Lords Chamber

Asked by

[Lord Blencathra]

To ask His Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to mitigate the risks arising from new housing being built in areas of medium or high flood risk.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (Baroness Taylor of Stevenage) (Lab)]

My Lords, the National Planning Policy Framework is clear that inappropriate development in flood risk areas should be avoided by directing development away from areas at highest risk. If necessary in such areas, development should be made safe for its lifetime without increasing flood risk elsewhere. The framework also requires any development which could have drainage impacts to incorporate sustainable drainage systems. We are consulting on a clearer, more rules-based framework, including a dedicated chapter on flood risk.

[Lord Blencathra (Con)]

My Lords, I am grateful to the Minister for that reply. The framework may suggest that, but reliable figures from the insurer Aviva reveal a trend of more and more new homes being built in medium and high flood risk areas, up from 8% 10 years ago to 11% last year, and potentially rising to 15% of new homes by 2050. In addition, of course, the Flood Re insurance scheme does not apply to houses built after 2009 and is due to end in 2039. Will the Government publish their own figures on this worrying trend, and what will they do to ensure progress towards reducing housing construction in flood risk areas?

[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.