'˜Proof needed' of bid to solve flood problems on land for new homes

DEVELOPERS and local councils need to prove they have tried to solve flooding problems on land earmarked for new homes or they will struggle to sell properties, the Housing Minister has warned.
Housing Minister Brandon Lewis.Housing Minister Brandon Lewis.
Housing Minister Brandon Lewis.

Neighbours will soon let people know if they are buying a property on previously water-logged land, Brandon Lewis admitted, and he claimed developers now need to work extra hard to win over customers.

Flooding in Yorkshire over the winter period saw some plots of development land in Shipley and Pudsey with planning permission for homes sitting under more than half-a-metre of water.

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However, the sight of devastated brownfield and greenfield sites will stick in people’s minds and developers may find themselves facing tougher advice from the Environment Agency if they try to renew their permission to build in the future, according to Mr Lewis.

The Minister, who was the Government’s envoy during the Somerset Levels flooding in 2013, said: “I would expect the developer and the local authority to be very active if land has been in that situation, to make sure 
that if they are going to move forward and do anything, they do so with full account of the 
flooding. Not least because you’re in a commercial market.

“If you are building property on land that’s had that kind of level of flooding - everybody knows - and your customer is going to be saying ‘what have you done about this’?

“You’re not going to be able to build a house and nobody realise, and even if you did, you’re not going to be able to find any customers because you wouldn’t get your building regulations signed off, so there’s a lot of protections out there.”

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He said people should have confidence that local councils take advice of the Environment Agency when it comes to flooding in 99 per cent of cases. Beyond planning permission, building regulations also need to be signed off at the end of the construction period, and if they do not meet the correct standards, then people cannot move in.

However, for the many development sites that have remained empty for years and might soon be up for renewal, developers need to be aware that advice may have changed following this winter’s extreme weather and there is no guarantee that they will be granted the same permission.

He said: “Bear in mind planning permissions lapse, they are not forever.

“If they have been empty for two years and they’ve not been built they are going to be needing to go for new planning soon.

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“Yes you can build in those areas but if you’re going to do it, you’ve got to use whatever the relevant local technique is to avoid those flooding issues particularly once you know they are going to happen.”

Mr Lewis is currently awaiting the Royal Ascent of the Government’s Housing and Planning Bill and said from the end of April councils should expect major changes to the planning process to help deal with the country’s housing shortage.

A new independent body, that sits outside the local authority, will be introduced to solve disputes about Section 106 agreements between developers and councils.

The agreements stipulate how much money a developer should contribute to fund parks and amenities for the community, and set affordable homes quotas.

He said from the decisions will be made within weeks and speed up decisions on planning applications considerably.

Comment: Page 12.