Floods.

Lisa Miles:

I'm always amazed at why anyone would buy a house that sits on a flood plain anyway? Just like I can't understand why people buy houses backing onto motorways or railway lines and then complain because it's noisy? 


Surely anyone with any common sense knows that if you buy a house close to a river then there's a pretty good chance that you may experience a flood at some stage? 

That does however, somewhat assume you have the advantage of time, money (ideally both) and the luxury of choice when it comes to purchasing a house.


There's a new estate going up near me, on a former brownfield site, that is literally on an estuarine river bank - plenty of local folk remember the old factory site flooding occasionally during high tides and heavy rain. There is almost a scrum going on with the rush to purchase due to a lack of available housing locally. Regardless of the history, it's easy to see the predicted level of a 1:100 year return event flood based on the underside of the beam and block floors  - in order to minimise height, they are insulated exactly at that level with EPS. The only bits raised up on the whole site is one section of access road (so people could theoretically escape the flood). Given the huge reduction in permeable area, it isn't difficult to see how the place would resemble Venice on a good day flood - and lots of wet feet on a bad day flood.


Lots of people buy houses based on the assumption that no one would be so daft as to build them on a flood zone - Caveat Emptor, as many housebuilders are playing snake and mongoose with the planners as I alluded to above.


Regards


OMS

 

Lisa Miles:

I'm always amazed at why anyone would buy a house that sits on a flood plain anyway? Just like I can't understand why people buy houses backing onto motorways or railway lines and then complain because it's noisy? 


Surely anyone with any common sense knows that if you buy a house close to a river then there's a pretty good chance that you may experience a flood at some stage? 

That does however, somewhat assume you have the advantage of time, money (ideally both) and the luxury of choice when it comes to purchasing a house.


There's a new estate going up near me, on a former brownfield site, that is literally on an estuarine river bank - plenty of local folk remember the old factory site flooding occasionally during high tides and heavy rain. There is almost a scrum going on with the rush to purchase due to a lack of available housing locally. Regardless of the history, it's easy to see the predicted level of a 1:100 year return event flood based on the underside of the beam and block floors  - in order to minimise height, they are insulated exactly at that level with EPS. The only bits raised up on the whole site is one section of access road (so people could theoretically escape the flood). Given the huge reduction in permeable area, it isn't difficult to see how the place would resemble Venice on a good day flood - and lots of wet feet on a bad day flood.


Lots of people buy houses based on the assumption that no one would be so daft as to build them on a flood zone - Caveat Emptor, as many housebuilders are playing snake and mongoose with the planners as I alluded to above.


Regards


OMS