Today’s publication of the National Assessment of Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk in England 2024 is to be welcomed. The assessment provides an up-to-date picture of current and future flood and coastal erosion risk across England.
Whilst the report is a summary of findings, and further data is yet to be published, it identifies national and regional trends in flood and coastal erosion risk, and the potential for these to change in the future. The trends are stark.
The report indicates that 6.3 million homes and businesses across England are at risk of flooding – rising to 8 million under the impacts of climate change. The risk to infrastructure, with around one-third of the rail and road network currently at risk of flooding, increasing significantly by mid-century is also of note. As is the impact of flooding on the highest-grade agricultural land. An already beleaguered sector.
Such findings bring into sharp relief the need for increased resilience across society in England and the wider UK. The case for the Government to increase investment in flood risk management, through both increased delivery of new capital schemes and the better maintenance of current assets, is compelling. Departmental budgets in the year ahead and the next spending review cannot be compromised.
However, building true resilience to climate change requires longer term planning and investment across multiple parliamentary periods. Over perhaps 25 years. Certainly over 10 years. In addition, the integration of capital and revenue funding streams must be established to enable meaningful investment in long-term resilience.
We are pleased and proud to have contributed key technical elements of the National Assessment. Improved understanding of risk is a first step in building resilience to the impacts of climate change. Further measures across, all aspects of “awareness”, “adaptation”, “recovery” and “response” are required to increase resilience.
