Tens of thousands of homes risk being uninsurable if built on flood plains across the UK under Angela Rayner’s housing blitz, experts have warned. The Government’s push to build 1.5 million homes over the next five years could include houses built in some of the UK’s highest-risk areas, the Association for British Insurers (ABI) warned.
Louise Clark, the ABI manager, said: “We are concerned that in order to build that level of housing, some decisions are going to be taken to build in flood zones. We welcome the 1.5m new homes and acknowledge they need to be built but they need investment in flood defences.”
Some 109,000 new homes built in England between 2013 and 2022 were in at-risk areas, and the trends suggest around 100,000 of Labour’s targeted 1.5m new homes could be located in areas prone to flooding, analysts at Aviva said.
Ms Clark said: “There’s no point building a load of homes in areas at risk of flooding without thinking about the flood risk as well, both now and in the future. It’s just making sure that we build the right homes in the right places.”
Rising flood risks threaten to leave some homes uninsurable, she suggested.
The Government’s Flood Re scheme currently helps provide coverage for at-risk properties. However, the publicly backed scheme is expected to end in 2039. Homes built after 2009 are also generally excluded from being covered by Flood Re.
The ABI has called on ministers to invest £1billion each year on new flood defences, including concrete barriers, to protect houses in areas that face significant risks of flooding.
Ms Clark said: “We’re looking for a commitment to spend at least £1bn a year on flood defences to protect both new and existing homes. Where a decision has been taken to build in areas that’s at increased risks of flooding, we would also want the Government to mandate basic flood resistance measures.”
The Government has been contacted for comment.