Bricks and Water 2: MP Leads debate on key lessons to protect vulnerable communities from flooding

This week, shadow minister for Fisheries, Flooding, Coastal Communities and Water, Ruth Jones MP chaired an online roundtable to discuss property flood resilience as part of the WSBF’s ongoing inquiry into water and housebuilding.

Having moved our events programme online, this web meeting included a keynote presentation from Ed Barsley, Director at The Environmental Design Studio, who introduced his work on retrofitting homes for flood resilience.  In the wake of disruption from storms Ciara and Dennis this winter, Ed highlighted the importance of incorporating measures to reduce the costs of restoration following a flood and to allow residents to get back into their homes quicker.  Graham Brogden, outgoing chair from the DEFRA Flood Resilience Roundtable gave an update on their recently issued Code of Practice, and Professor Louise Bracken from Durham University presented on the importance of community engagement. The roundtable formed the third evidence session in our ongoing Bricks and Water inquiry into property resilience and was attended by a variety of stakeholders including water companies, civil servants, consultancy, and third sector organisations.

A full summary of the discussion is available to download via the link on this page.