Developers hit back at calls for tougher planning controls

Chris Coates, Managing Director, Galliford Try Homes, responds to suggestions from the Association of British Insurers (ABI) that poor planning decisions will lead to more homes becoming unsaleable and uninsurable, due to risk of flooding.

“The number of developments which the ABI reports went ahead, against advice from the Environment Agency last year, only makes up a very small proportion of the total number of schemes that took place across the UK as a whole. In those cases, necessary steps will have been taken to minimise any risk involved.

“There are already planning controls in place to ensure flood risks are minimal. Under the Planning Policy Statement 25 (PPS25) we are compelled to ensure that flood risk is taken into account at all stages in the planning process, avoiding inappropriate development in areas that are deemed to be at risk of flooding, and ensuring development is directed away from areas of high risk.

“The Government has launched an ambitious target of achieving three million new homes by 2020, with some areas currently in desperate need for more housing. In these instances, a careful balance needs to be reached to ensure that the homes built are at minimal risk of flooding, but at the same time are meeting local demand.

“Instead of calling for stricter planning controls, I would suggest that energy is put into improving the quality of information that is currently available. One of the biggest issues faced by developers today is the lack of accurate information regarding actual flood plain areas/plans available.”