The problem with floodplains....

Well we've been a little quiet, but after all this is the time of year the journos call "silly season", ie looking for fantastic tales to fill the column inches....anyone reading the local press over the past week will appreciate the truth in that aphorism.
So let's just roll back a little and look at floodplains, not very long ago our MP, the Rt Hon Hugo Swire was reported as being concerned about the problems with expanding Cranbrook because of the problems with the floodplain. A laudable sentiment, we trust our local MP remembers that our little regen plan is on a floodplain too.
So what is his problem with floodplains? Quite simply put, it's the current governement allowing building control to be lax enough for development on a floodplain to happen.
OK that's the political bit, beyond reminding you all that this is OUR MP talking about Cranbrook...not Seaton..you draw your own conclusions, I couldn't possibly comment.

So let's look at an expert opinion instead, 'cause I'm sure to be targetted for new defamatory spin if I didn't....

from
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/6243926.stm

'Fallen short'
Experts are warning it is likely that such flooding will happen again in the future. Bob Spicer, professor of earth sciences at the Open University, said human activity was one of the causes of the floods.
"One of the reasons why we've got this catastrophic flooding is that we've spent an awful lot of time building on floodplains." He said concreting floodplains "overwhelms the surface channels and the sewage systems and we get floods". "Floodplains are called floodplains for a reason - they flood. That tends to be where we build, because it's easier." The Environment Agency has in place 18 severe flood warnings and 97 standard flood warnings. A recent report from the National Audit Office said the Environment Agency had fallen short in the area of flood defences. It said that overall there had been little improvement in the past six years and that the agency was missing its targets.