Improving the flood resistance of domestic property

A number of factors are now combining to make floods in the UK more frequent, more widespread and more costly. These include greater variations in weather patterns with more and heavier rain; changes in land use with increased development on the floodplain and the effectiveness and availability of flood defences and drainage systems. While the Government has a significant flood management programme in place to address the needs of the UK's at risk areas, individual property owners can, perhaps in partnership with their mortgage provider, insurer or local authority, do much to increase the resistance of their properties to flood damage. Further, these repairs could significantly reduce the cost of subsequent damage, should flooding occur again. The options considered in this paper include the use of flood protection products and the use of more flood‐resilient materials and repairs methods with a review of the cost‐ benefit of the latter depending on the type, severity and frequency of flooding.