Flooding is an
issue we are all acutely aware of, particularly as more and more unpredictable
weather conditions continue to challenge us. In fact, according to the Met
Office, 2012 saw the second-highest annual recording of rain since 1910
for the UK, while England faced its wettest year to date.
As a result, architects
must seriously consider the impact flood could have for future building
projects. For one thing, an important
deadline is approaching that is likely to raise the topic of flood risk higher
up the agenda: on 31 July 2013, the ‘Statement of Principles’ agreement between
Government and the insurance industry is expiring.
This agreement,
which has been voluntarily extended by one month to July, commits insurers to
continue offering reasonably priced flood insurance as part of standard
household policies. With its expiration,
it has the potential to lead to difficulties in not only accessing affordable
insurance cover for those properties deemed at significant risk, but also mortgage security.
With such
challenges in place, a number of guides have been produced for architects that
offer best practice advice regarding integrating both control and mitigation
steps into overall designs, yet continue to output sustainable developments.
In addition, desktop reports provide
flood risk screening that help architects assess the risk of flooding to any
given location. It is important to have a ‘bigger picture view’, to understand
a site’s complete risk profile and while people use the Environment Agency
website to determine one level of risk, our desktop reports provide clear,
upfront guidance from a number of sources. This includes JBA Risk Management, official
Environment Agency (EA) data and also British Geographic Survey (BGS)
Groundwater information.
An example of
this can be seen here in Hull, East Yorkshire – our flood report not only gives
you EA data (blue) but also insurance claim information both historical and
assessment of future premium (green). It also builds-in the different types of
flood risk, so as to provide the complete picture of your specific area.
So, when
accessing your OS mapping at the outset of any project, it makes sense to also
consider the potential flood risk at the site in question at the same
time. Both Sitecheck (commercial) and
Homecheck (residential) flood analysis reports are available within Promap.
Ultimately, environmental
risks must be analysed at the outset so any future development is designed to
not only resist whatever the elements may throw at it, but future owners can rest
assured knowing that they will have no issues accessing appropriate insurances.
Details regarding our range of Flood Risk analysis
reports are available to access here:
