Planning for the future

Few would argue with the fact that Summer 2007 has been a record-breaker for all the wrong reasons, says Mike Smith, Head of Sustainable Development, Yorkshire Forward

Unfortunately this year will not go down in the annals of history for its high temperatures and balmy summer days, but for the highest levels of rainfall and the worse floods for decades.

As we all know, we can’t control the weather, but what we can do – and indeed cannot afford not to do, as Yorkshire and Humber has the highest risk of flooding outside of London – is develop strategies and deliver plans to ensure that when Mother Nature does her worst, we are confident that we can emerge with minimal damage to our lives, our property and our businesses.

And there is no doubt that the key is in the planning and design of our towns, cities and buildings. A statement that could be met with scepticism or alarm from professionals who are already being asked to design out crime and include recycled materials and other sustainable features into their plans. But the fact remains that it is the architects, planners and designers that will be tasked with climate-proofing our future developments.

So – what can be done? Flood alleviation should be considered as standard when planning new developments. Although Yorkshire Forward is not responsible for flood defences, we have invested in a project at Alkborough Flats on the Humber estuary to develop a flood plain that will help to prevent the river from flooding local homes and businesses at high tide.

Similarly, flood alleviation measures have been included in the programme of works planned for the waterside development in the South Yorkshire town of Rotherham.

These actions have been taken into account early on in the planning process because we understand the natural history of the landscape we are working with, and want to work with nature rather than against it.

We can work towards greater self-sufficiency within local communities and business parks by building in small-scale power plants and energy efficiency by using environmental technologies like ground source heat pumps and photo voltaics. This will enable businesses and communities to continue to function and reduce the number of problems that residents and businesses face even if they are cut off from outside services for a period of time.

In order to avoid problems in the future, drainage systems also need to be improved or designed to meet the needs of modern, more intensive living. For example, the rising demand for ‘apartment living’ means that hundreds of people are now living on areas of land that would have traditionally been much less densely occupied. And properties that are built where there is the potential to flood should have their garages positioned at ground level with living space above, and their essential cabling and pipework laid at ceiling height rather than at ground or underground level.

In public areas, the provision of areas of green space along corridors between buildings or sports pitches for public amenity can have the dual effect of offering a much needed respite from brick and concrete – which would equally serve to divert floodwater when necessary.

There is no way that these actions will eradicate the threat posed by a repeat of the levels of rainfall experienced in our region and several others this summer - they have been exceptional. But these incidents are expected to happen more frequently in the future, so we have to take action now to protect ourselves – and I would urge all property professionals to stop and think before taking action!