Housing and Regeneration Bill

moved Amendment No. 10: 10: After Clause 8, insert the following new Clause— ““Flood assessment Before exercising its powers under sections 5 to 8, the HCA shall— (a) assess fully the risk of flooding to any new development; (b) assess fully the impact of any new development on downstream risks; (c) ensure that any new development is flood resilient and resistant.”” The noble Earl said: My Lords, the amendment requires the HCA to assess the risk of flooding to any new development and the impact that any new development may have on downstream risks. In addition, where there is a risk of flooding for any new development, the HCA must ensure that it is flood-resilient and resistant. Since the Bill was drafted at the end of last year, we have had not only the interim Pitt review on flooding but the final Pitt report. Pitt reported to Defra, but it seems to me that in the interests of joined-up thinking there should be some reference to flooding in the Bill. There were nearly 400 government amendments to the Bill during its passage through the other place, and there must be about 300 government amendments so far in this House. Although I looked through the raft of government amendments produced on Report—more than 150—I could find no reference to flooding. I find that surprising. It seems to me to be common sense that if we are going to build 3 million new homes during the next 12 years, the Bill should require the HCA to carry out some sort of flood assessment before deciding where and how to build new developments, given that a proportion of the total will undoubtedly be built in areas at risk of flooding. Pitt devotes 100 pages—section 3—to improve planning and reduce the risk of flooding and its impact, which has a direct bearing on the work to be carried out by the HCA. It seems only sensible to include a provision devoted to that in the Bill. We had hoped that it would be a government amendment. The amendment comes in three parts. First, it requires that the HCA shall, "““assess fully the risk of flooding to any new development””." Secondly, it requires that the HCA, "““assess fully the impact of any new development on downstream risks””." Thirdly, where any new development takes place where there is a risk of flooding, the HCA is required to ensure that the design of the development is flood-resilient and resistant. That third part recognises that a proportion of all future developments may well be on flood plains, but, where that is the case, although there is a risk of flooding, it is important that development is carried out in such a way that it increases the resilience and resistance to flooding and thus reduces the damage from it, should it occur. In response to the debate on the subject in Committee, the noble Baroness, Lady Andrews, said that the Environment Agency worked closely with local authorities, which must do the flood assessment with it, and that that cannot be the job of the HCA. I beg to differ: it is very much the job of the HCA to carry out flood assessment when deciding on future developments. For example, the Bill gives specific powers for the HCA to become a local planning authority. In such an instance, it will be the HCA, not the local authority, who will have to work closely with the Environment Agency in assessing flood risks. In one year alone, 21 major planning applications were approved by local authorities against the Environment Agency's advice. It is only common sense that the HCA should be aware of and be required to make flood assessments before coming to any decisions on future developments. I beg to move.