Flood Risk in the Regeneration Area

The following letter has been sent by a correspondent to this site to several newspapers but has not been published yet. If you have any comments on flood risk, please pass them on.

Dear Sirs,

I wonder if you would be kind enough to consider publishing this letter before next weeks important public meeting in Seaton called by the Development Trust to consider all aspects of the town regeneration plans :

"In order to protect the proposed new buildings from flooding the developers are suggesting raising some land levels by about 1.8 metres. This does not apply to the non-built areas, which will remain at natural flood plain level. Originally the plan was to source the necessary material from the adjacent marshlands thus helping to create wildlife ponds for the Nature Reserve. This might have been a win-win approach but apparently the plan is now to import the material, presumeably by heavy lorry; many of them. Their route is unknown but this will not be a pleasent experience for many of us, and can in no way be considered a "sustainable" activity.

Figures used by the Environment Agency are based on a tidal level of 3.51 metres above OD, which is half a metre less than we already sometimes experience. Account IS taken of a government estimate from 2001 of a 5mm per year rise in sea level. However, new figures, already being applied, but not to Seaton, are ; 2mm for 20 years, 4mm until 2050 and 8mm after that. If the new buildings are to last more than 50 years or so then the figures being used are already too small.

The Developers are using a 200 year return period storm event to arrive at their proposed levels but global warming is acknowledged to reduce a 200 year event to a 20 year event. That is, with increasing global warming, the frequency of storms and floods will increase by a factor of ten. When adding a fresh water flood (which the Environment Agency say has a negligable effect !) - the risks of which are becoming greater all the time, with a tidal surge AND sea level rise due to ice-cap melt and thermal expansion of the oceans, combined with developers always wishing to keep costs to a minimum, it is likely that the predicted highest water levels, and therefore the amount of material needed to raise the land, are a severe under-estimate.

The Environment Agency openly consider that one effect of the plans will be to make existing Harbour Road properties more vulnerable to flooding than they already are.

A formal "Flood Risk Assessment" for the area will be provided by the developers. It may not be un-biased. This will be judged by the Environment Agency and will, with any necessary amendments, then be used to inform local planners. Strangely, at the present time, there is another government policy to actually reduce the numbers of buildings on flood plains due to their increasing vulnerability and insurance implications".

No doubt the costs of protecting the new buildings, especially if done properly, will mean very little of the developers profits being reinvested for community benefit and town regeneration, which was always seen by EDDC as the prime objective. A little lateral thinking in terms of following the Dutch example of new buidings on stilts to keep them above the rising waters would be far more sustainable and would add a special distinctiveness to Seaton's regeneration as a visitor-must on the World Heritage coast tour".

Thank you,