New homes will be better protected from flooding following changes to planning guidance, according to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities.

The updated planning guidance will help councils make sure developments meet strict criteria in locations at risk of flooding before they are approved, ensuring that local communities aren’t negatively impacted as a result.

Changing climate

The move aims to ensure that developers across England can adapt to the challenges of a changing climate and that new homes are sustainable.

Here’s how:

• Where new homes in areas at risk of flooding, councils will be able to ensure they meet recommended standards on flood resilience – for example, using flood resilient building materials or moving plug sockets higher up walls.
• Local areas will also have access to better guidance on how to control surface water run-off, with the use of sustainable drainage systems to enhance the quantity and quality of water in the region, as well as local biodiversity.
• The guidance also highlights the opportunities new development can bring to reduce the causes and impacts of flooding through the use of natural flood management techniques.

The government said its new planning guidance forms part of its mission to ‘level up and regenerate communities by delivering sustainable and lasting homes’.

It will also help to achieve the long-term goal to create a nation more resilient to flood and coastal erosion risk.