Flood Resilience
Earlier in this report, there was reference to the government advice booklet called "Preparing for Floods", which was produced in response to a recommendation from the Select Committee Inquiry into the Autumn 2000 floods that more flood resilient building techniques be used in floodplains.

"Preparing for Floods" is all very well as a first step, but how are changes in building regulations as required by the Select Committee to be implemented? To implement different building regulations in flood hazard areas would require a close relationship between planners and building control officers at a local level, and in the author's experience this has not happened in the past.

To implement changes in existing properties would require "resilient reinstatement" which insurers are unwilling to pay for because it constitutes "betterment". (Attitudes may change following the ABI Statement of Principles, which can lock an insurer into insuring a flood risk property, and lock a customer into staying with the same insurer.)

Gillian Holland of the National Flood Forum has spent the best part of a year touring the country, talking to flood victims, and reports that many loss adjusters have refused resilient reinstatement, even where no additional costs were involved or where the customer was prepared to pay any additional cost. She recommends "Go for tiled floors, plugs at waist level, a finish on the walls that doesn't involve gypsum plaster, a kitchen that doesn't incorporate MDF. You may be surprised to find that your loss adjuster doesn't think this is a good idea. Argue. Use the money due to you, add your own money, approach your mortgage lender. 170 ". All of this is excellent advice. Insurers and loss adjusters should be encouraging resilient reinstatement, not resisting it.

Scotland is moving towards solutions:

•  Flood Liaison and Advice Groups are bringing planners and building control officers together in a welcome "joined up thinking" approach.

•  There is an insurance representative (the author) on the Research Committee of the Scottish Building Standards Advisory Committee, so that vulnerability and insurance issues and expertise are borne in mind when developing new standards. (By contrast, there is no consultation with insurers on new building Regulations in England and Wales .)

•  The consultation paper for new Building Standards Primary Legislation in Scotland followed the author's suggestion that insurers should be required to use resilient reinstatement techniques for buildings damaged by floods or storms. This will cost insurers more in the short term but in the long run, it will reduce claims costs and wastage. (The Bill completed its final stage on 19 th February 2003 and after Royal Assent, came fully into effect in July 2004 when the Scottish Building Standards Agency was established. While the resilient reinstatement provision no longer specifically appears, there is a new section on sustainable development. The author has it on good authority that the Act does indeed give the Scottish Executive powers to require resilient reinstatement, as well as additional powers related to sustainable development.) Whether the Executive will use these powers remains to be seen.

•  Flood vulnerability is very dependent on the physical strength of the building. Just keeping flood waters out of a building does not protect it from damage because the lateral pressure on walls, windows and doors from flooding outside a house can be very strong and can break windows or knock walls and doors down. This is especially so if there is waterborne debris. Building standards in Scotland are already higher than in England , mainly because of the higher frequency and severity of windstorms. This makes them better able to withstand floods as well.

An additional point worth considering is that the huge demand for building labour and materials in the South East of England, means that the costs of repairing flood damaged properties is bound to be much higher there than in Scotland .

Examples of resilient reinstatement methods are shown in Appendix 5. At the time of writing (August 2004), a major new report on resilient reinstatement is in course of preparation by BRE Scotland for CIRIA.

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