Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what proportion of houses in Lancashire are built on flood plains.

National planning policy is clear that inappropriate development in areas at risk of flooding should be avoided by directing development away from areas at highest risk, including floodplains. Where development is necessary in a flood risk area and there are no suitable sites available in areas with a lower probability of flooding, it should be safe and not increase flood risk elsewhere. The policy is underpinned by planning guidance which is clear: local councils must consider the strict tests in policy that protect people and property from flooding, and where these tests are not met, development should not be allowed.

Between 2013 and 2015 8% of newly created residential addresses in England were in the National Flood Zone 3. DCLG Land Use Change Statistics cover only England.

Estimates for individual local authorities are provided in Live Table 321 of Land Use Change Statistics, available at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/live-tables-onland-use-change-statistics