Amazingly, we've got yet another challenge to contend with when we build, but this time it's long overdue. That is, ensuring that developments in floodplains can survive the sort of floods that devastated 60,000 homes and businesses this time last year. Two reports published this week - one that the government commissioned from Sir Michael Pitt and the other from the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE), an organisation whose expertise Pitt drew on heavily - have produced an eminently sensible set of proposals to ensure flood-proofing is at the front of developers' minds. For example, the 2010 overhaul of the Building Regulations could make homes more resilient to flooding with measures that housebuilders can accommodate without too much extra cost (page 16). Pitt says the regulations should apply to home refurbishments, too - as we know, most people who have been flooded don't make their homes more resilient afterwards, so that's another good recommendation.
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