After the wettest winter on record and the ever-increasing threat that climate change poses for flood risk in the UK, trustees from Slow The Flow, with the help of Holly Lynch, MP for Halifax, arranged a reception at the Houses of Parliament to speak to members of parliament from all parties and from around the UK.
Slow The Flow is an educational charity working to inform the public about renewable environment management methods tailored to suit the specifics of local geography. Two of these methods, natural flood management (NFM) and sustainable drainage systems (SuDS), involve using natural barriers, like ‘leaky dams’ or rain gardens, to catch and detain storm water, thereby slowing its release and reducing the risk of flooding further downstream. These methodologies are scalable from domestic gardens to large natural landscapes. Slow The Flow continues to demonstrate the viability and efficacy of such systems via its projects in the Calder Valley.
The purpose of Slow The Flow’s visit to parliament was to illustrate how utilising these natural techniques can make a significant contribution to reducing flood risk in many other local communities across the UK. The day was very productive, with the trustees meeting more than 20 MPs and their parliamentary assistants, who all wanted to understand more about how NFM can reduce flood risk. There were numerous conversations about NFM and the benefits of using such nature-based solutions to flooding in those MPs’ own constituencies.
Presenting the five-point plan to MPs
Slow The Flow has developed five key messages which were presented to members of parliament and peers to highlight the importance of NFM, SuDS, and other renewable methods of managing the environment to reduce flood risk. These key messages are:
- More funding is required for NFM. It is a cost-effective approach that provides value for money. Currently the funding model is balanced in favour of hard-engineering solutions, with only a tiny proportion of funding going to NFM.
- All planning developments should include SuDS to manage water at a local level. This is already adopted and implemented in Wales but not elsewhere in the UK.
- Education is crucial for long-term understanding and success. NFM and SuDS should be included in the primary school curriculum.
- Green skills and expertise are necessary for the development of NFM. These roles and professions should be prioritised if we are going to build upon the knowledge and benefits of NFM. All local authorities should have NFM officers to manage projects on a local level.
- NFM and SuDS have a positive impact on Combined Sewer Outfalls, and the automatic right to combined sewer connection should be removed.
Slow The Flow will continue to educate and work with legislators to ensure that NFM is front and centre of decisions around reducing flood risk in Calderdale and around the UK. Slow The Flow has already had subsequent contact from MPs who want to know more about its work and how using these methods can reduce flood risk in their own constituencies.
The escalating flood risk
Many people who have never encountered flooding at all in their towns and villages are now seeing this phenomenon affecting them as the climate is changing. Wetter and warmer conditions are resulting in significant unpredictability in our weather systems, and we are seeing more severe and frequent flood events.
Slow The Flow regularly gets calls and enquiries from worried communities around the UK who are looking to protect their homes and businesses from rising water levels and the increasing threat of flood water. There are 5.7 million properties in England at risk of flooding. Whilst there is an ongoing capital programme which expects to improve protection for 200,000 properties by 2027, some 203,000 properties are currently at increased risk of flooding due to the deterioration of existing flood defences.
Holding the legislators to account
Despite the government’s ambition to create a nation more resilient to flooding, it has not defined what this means, and there is no measure of resilience against which to gauge progress. This is why organisations like Slow The Flow need to be innovative and proactive to hold our legislators to account to protect a vast proportion of our population from flood risk.
NFM clearly provides some of these solutions, with better value and less disruption to our environment than traditional hard-engineered solutions, in the communities these legislators serve. The benefits are plain to see and Slow The Flow will continue to promote these innovations at the highest possible political levels to protect our communities from the pervading risk of flooding.
Without continued and sustained pressure, nothing changes. Slow The Flow states it will continue to work with its partners at the National Trust, Yorkshire Wildlife Trust, the Environment Agency, Calderdale Council, Yorkshire Water, with members of parliament and with other flood affected communities around the UK.
In this year of elections, Slow The Flow urges communities around the UK concerned about flood risk to contact their members of parliament, mayoral candidates, and local councillors to press for more pro-activity and innovation and encourage them to take action and adopt this five-point plan.
