Keeping the water away Radical steps are being taken to prevent flooding, says Sarah Lonsdale The recent floods have sent a shiver through the bones of planners, developers and flood protection managers in London and Thames Gateway. With 'severe rainfall events' predicted to become more frequent, sea levels expected to rise, and winter rainfall forecast to be 40 per cent more intense, the building of thousands of new homes in the estuary of one of the most flood-prone rivers needs to be questioned. Ray Manchester looks out over wetlands created by the new flood management scheme In a report by the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) last month, one expert argues the only way to protect the Thames Gateway and London would be by building a 10-mile barrier from Sheerness in the south to Shoeburyness in the north, a hugely expensive plan that would struggle to find Government support.
The Association of British Insurers (ABI) has also been concerned about the Thames Gateway plans. Spokesman Malcolm Tarling says research by the ABI concludes that climate change could increase the risk of flooding in the Estuary by eight to 12 times. "We are not anti new building," says Tarling, "but it's a false economy to build if flooding's going to be inevitable.
Insurance is for possibilities not inevitabilities.
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