EA calls for national strategy on urban flood risks

The Environment Agency (EA) is calling for the introduction of a national strategy for managing the urban flood risk.

In evidence submitted to the Environment and Rural Affairs Select Committee, the EA admitted that "little work has been done on mapping areas at risk from urban surface water flooding."

It also claimed there was "no nationally consistent approach" and called for a "workable, risk-based methodology for characterising urban flood risk."

A consultation is underway and the EA is calling on the government for them to be the agency with the overview role of all types of inland flooding.

The head of the EA Baroness Young told MPs yesterday that she feared even if it were possible to accurately map the risk posed by surface water, it would be prohibitively expensive.

Instead local authorities could undertake a strategic flood risk assessment before coming up with a surface water management plan in those areas prone to surface water flooding, MPs were told.

Young also warned more cash was needed to protect from floods and the risks posed by climate change.

She welcomed the confirmation the government would increase spending to £800million by 2010 but said: "It's not Christmas and birthday yet, it's good but it's not the end of the road."

The extra money would allow the agency to tackle the backlog of communities not sufficiently defended and improve maintenance on high risk and medium risk defences.

In its evidence the EA said the ABI's call for flood risk management budgets to be increased by 10 per cent per year was "prudent" so that capacity can increase in line with a real increase in budget.