BPA back ABI's demand for flood defence funds

Responding Sir Michael Pitt's 'Lessons Learned' review of the summer floods, the British Property Federation (BPF) has backed the Association of British Insurers (ABI) call for the government to provide more funding for flood-threatened properties.

In the written response, the chairman of the BPF's Insurance Committee, William Gloyn, stated that the government must provide sufficient flood defences for affordable flood insurance to remain available to its members.

This follows the ABI's revision of its statement of principles following the summer 2007 floods, where they introduced restrictions to residential properties only.

Gloyn said: "We hope that careful consideration is given by the Government to the ABI's call for greater investment than the £800M already committed to protect against future floods – which is, in itself, not going to be fully available until 2010, if other priorities do not reduce that amount in the meantime."

He goes on to say: "We would, however, call for any allocation of investment to be transparent and based on obtaining maximum value."

The BPF also are opposed to Government plans to remove the automatic right to for new developments to connect to the sewerage system.

The BPF said the floods, "were not the direct result of new developments connecting unopposed to the existing sewerage network as is implied in the interim report."

Gloyn advocates limiting the development rights for high-risk properties, where building impermeable surfaces could increase the the risk of surface water run off.

Gloyn said the City was concerned about increaseing premiums: "The City Property Association is particularly concerned about the impact that a failure to improve flood defences will have on the perceived risk to occupiers of City properties, many of whom represent the powerhouse of the UK economy."