By: Geoff Roberts

Geoff Roberts — Mon, 03 Jul 2017 07:59:37 +0000

Excellent piece and a real contribution to the very necessary information/education campaign around this spectacular project, thanks Steve.
You raise the interesting , maybe I ought to say challenging, topic of funding schemes such as this – a topic that is on my mind as well. It seems to me that, in principle, those who are going to benefit from flood protection should be the ones to pay for it and a simplistic view of this would be that householders and businesses on the flood plain should be the primary payers – if you are daft enough to live on a flood plain then it’s your responsibility. Unfortunately this is FAR TOO simplistic.
Let’s start with the many social housing tenants living in properties on the flood plain – I can’t see their representations to social landlords being well received when they refuse accommodation because it might flood. And what about people who bought properties that were not believed likely to flood before the impact of climate change was modelled and now find themselves liable to flooding? Then we have to acknowledge that if protecting the flood plain brings business to the area then that business has benefits in terms of employment opportunities or economic benefits that stretch beyond the immediate area. What about infrastructure providers whose kit lies in floodplains and where the impact of losing that kit impacts a much wider population than those whose feet get wet?
So who should pay? Well at present the vast majority comes from ‘taxation’ via local or central government and maybe, for the reasons outlined above, it’s right that funding flood protection is a societal concern rather than just the responsibility of those occupying the floodplain. For me, the key question is about balance. If I have been sensible enough to buy a house on higher ground, or a flat on the 10th storey of one of those nice high rise developments around Leeds Dock, rather than one on the ground floor, should I contribute the same amount as someone who knowingly occupies a property on a flood plain? If I want to build my business by developing on a brownfield site near the river rather than invading the green belt should I be penalised for building on a floodplain or rewarded for developing previously derelict inner city land?
I wish I knew even some of the answers to what is a complex equation, perhaps this piece has illustrated for you just how it’s not as simple as some suggest.

Comments on: Weir Science (Part 1): Hold Back the River

By: Geoff Roberts