One in nine new homes 'built in areas of flood risk'

One in nine new homes in England built between 2022 and 2024 were constructed in areas that could now be at risk of flooding, according to new data.

- Helena Horton

The figures show the number of homes being built in risky areas is on the rise. A previous analysis showed that between 2013 and 2022, one in 13 new homes were in potential flooding zones.

The research comes as the government faces growing pressure to deliver new affordable housing amid signs that the climate breakdown is accelerating.

Data published by the insurer Aviva reveals that of the 396,602 new homes recorded by the Ordnance Survey in England between 2022 and 2024, 43,937 are in areas of medium or high risk of flooding, while 26% of new homes have some risk of flooding.

Emma Howard Boyd, a former chair of the Environment Agency (EA) who advises Aviva on climate policy, said the government's target to build 1.5m homes this parliament could create pressure to build in areas at high risk of flooding.

She said: “We don't want to be building today's houses in places where they will become ever more at risk of flooding. Defra [the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs] and the Ministry of Housing need to be working close together to make sure housing targets aren't preventing what we know is needed to protect future and existing homes.”

Aviva's data also shows that by 2050, one in seven (15%) of the homes built between 2022 and 2024 will be at medium or high risk of flooding and almost a third (30%) will face some kind of flood risk as more extreme rainfall is predicted as a result of climate breakdown.

The government said the analysis did not factor in flood defences already in place, although this was disputed by the EA, which insisted they were taken into account.