English properties at risk of flooding to double in next 30 years without urgent investment, government warned

The number of England's properties at risk of flooding from heavy rainfall could double in the next 30 years unless the government tackles dodgy drainage, its advisers have warned.

About 325,000 homes and businesses are already in high danger of flooding from so-called "surface water flooding" from heavy rain, according to the National Infrastructure Commission (NIC).

Intensifying rain fuelled by climate change and growing, unmanaged developments risk putting an extra 295,000 properties at high risk of this sort of flooding by 2055, unless the government steps up investment.

River pollution and drought have dominated public discussion about water recently, the commissioners say, "but we risk ignoring a problem that can literally drop out of the sky at any moment".

It comes as the head of the Environment Agency warned a failure to adapt to climate breakdown will threaten the UK's economy, health and countryside.

In a speech to the Institute for Government today, James Bevan said that the longer action is delayed on adaptation, the bigger the bill that will be handed to our children.

"This is not what the next generation need on top of the rising cost of living," he said.

Adaptation could include flood defences to protect against the increased risk of flooding, planting trees to keep cities cooler in the face of heatwaves, or developing more heat-resilient crops.

Flooding from heavy rain is different to coastal or river flooding and tends to afflict urban areas in particular. It is often highly localised and hard to predict.

Widespread flooding in London in July 2021 damaged more than 1,500 properties, as well as health infrastructure and public transport.

Converting natural surfaces like grass, or even gravel, to tarmac or concrete also increases the risk as it stops rainwater from reaching natural drains like streams, leaving it to run down the street and into gutters instead.

With thinly veiled criticism, NIC warns the government has no clear targets for alleviating the risk, nor is it even clear who is responsible for preventing the misery and disruption that such flooding inflicts on people's lives.

Current processes fail to adequately force new developments to mitigate the impacts, NIC said.

It is calling for £12bn of investment over the next 30 years to tackle the risk.

This could pay for schemes to avoid so many hard, waterproof surfaces being built, an expansion of the drainage network and plans for the Environment Agency to work better with local authorities.

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