New flood forecasting centre for England and Wales

The £7 million centre aims to reduce the risk of floods by bringing weather and flood risk forecasting under one roof for the first time and alerting emergency response services more effectively.

It is part of a series of measures the Environment Agency has been putting in place following Sir Michael Pitt’s review of the devastating floods of summer 2007.

In England alone, five million people, in two million properties, live in flood risk areas.

A key strategic measure by the Government following the review is to make local authorities responsible for assessing and managing local flood risk and it has announced a £15 million fund to help local authorities do this.

The Environment Agency said some councils, such as Hull, Leeds and Gloucestershire, had already made significant progress in understanding and managing local flood and coastal risk. It now wants to see all authorities taking on responsibility for managing flood risk, even before legislation is implemented.

“The forthcoming Floods and Water Bill will give us the proper legal tools and clarity of responsibilities to complete the task ahead,” said Environment Agency chief executive Dr Paul Leinster.

Since the floods of summer 2007, the Environment Agency said it had completed 54 new flood defences in England and Wales, launched an Extreme Rainfall Alert (ERA) pilot service with the Met Office to forecast and warn emergency responders about extreme events, and continued to raise public awareness of flood risk.

It said it was now developing a long-term investment strategy, to understand what funding is needed over the next 25 years to manage flood risk.

 “We have been working closely with Government, local authorities and emergency responders to ensure that we are all better prepared for flooding when it occurs. Individuals and businesses must also take steps to prepare themselves for the risk of flooding,” said Leinster.

In Scotland, a new Flooding Bill aims to improve the efficiency and speed of the flood prevention process with the appointment of the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) to oversee local authorities managing flood risk locally.