MP aims to ban homebuilding that raises flood risk

An MP said he wanted a ban on homes being built in places where they added to the risk of flooding.

Mid Bedfordshire Conservative MP Blake Stephenson has proposed making internal drainage boards, which manage water levels in their areas, statutory consultees in planning applications.

Businesses at Maulden Garden Centre in his constituency claimed they had been flooded at least three times last year, causing an estimated £300,000 of damage.

Stephenson said his bill would force authorities to give "appropriate weight to flood risk in the planning system" and ensure developers could not "get out of obligations to build liveable homes".

Two instances of flooding last year cost Central Bedfordshire Council nearly £1.2m, with Maulden Garden Centre in Clophill badly affected.

Tenants on the site, which backs on to the River Flit, include a car dealership, construction company, recycling, storage units and dog day care centre.

During a ten-minute rule bill speech in the Commons, Stephenson said Maulden had "historically developed as a linear settlement running along the Greensand Ridge, but developers saw an opportunity to develop up the slope of the ridge."

He added that "upslope development caused a huge increase in flooding, to the point that homes that have stood for centuries with minimal flooding have now been reclassified by the Environment Agency as being within flood-plains."

If approved, the bill would allow planning authorities to reject future applications from developers on the basis of past failures to deliver or maintain sustainable drainage systems.

It would also require the secretary of state to publish statutory guidance, prepared by a panel of experts, for planning authorities.

The bill passed its first reading in the Commons, with a second reading due to follow on 11 July.

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