In the lead up to the 2015 General Election, Unda reviews the major political parties’ manifestos with particular focus on how they attend to address the issue of flooding if they come to power.  Pledges concerning their new build programmes over the coming years are also of concern when addressing the issue of flooding.

 

Nick Clegg leader of The Liberal Democrat’s launched their manifesto yesterday.

 

So how does the Liberal Democrat’s intent to address the issue of flooding?

The key points of the Libdem manifesto relating to flooding include;

• Help farmers cope with the challenges faced by them from flooding.
• Work with local government to review the governance of flood risk and land drainage
• Review the role of the Internal Drainage Boards
• Introduce high standards for flood resilience for buildings and infrastructure in flood risk areas.
• Set up a commission to research back-to-nature flood prevention schemes.
• Help farmers and other land users to adapt to climate change impacts by encouraging planting in uplands and restoring flood plains.
• Review the system of approvals required by landowners to repair existing flood protection measures on their land.
• Increase the uptake of Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems.
• Increase house building target to 300,00 a year
• Build 10 new Garden Cities in England
• Local Authorities drive plan-led development by requiring them to make a plan for 15 years of housing
• Local Authorities to keep a register of people who want a self-build plot in the local area and plan to meet demand for these plots.

 

Election 2015: Liberal Democrat Manifesto pledge on Flood. Extracts from the Manifesto:

Better places to live – Communities, farming and the natural environment – pg.80

Liberal Democrats are proud to represent a large part of rural Britain and many farming constituencies. We believe a fair society is one where people can afford to work and live in the countryside, and where farmers get the support they need. We want them to have a prosperous, sustainable future, and help them cope with the challenges facing them, from floods to animal diseases.

Adapting to climate change – pg.84 – 85

The devastating floods experienced over the past few years are a sign of accelerating climate change, exacerbated by changing patterns of land use. We need to find better ways of adapting to storms, gales, flooding and heat waves that put increased pressure on infrastructure, water supplies and ecosystems.

We will:

• Prepare a national resilience plan to help the UK economy, national infrastructure and natural resources adapt to the likely impacts of a 3-4 degree global average temperature rise.
• Work with local government to review the governance of flood risk and land drainage, including the role of Internal Drainage Boards, and introduce high standards for flood resilience for buildings and infrastructure in flood risk areas.
• Set up a commission to research back-to-nature flood prevention schemes, including the role of habitats such as upland bogs and moors, woodlands, wetlands and species-rich grasslands in absorbing and holding water.
• Implement programmes to help farmers and other land users adapt to climate change impacts including protecting soil and forest carbon sinks, encouraging planting in uplands and restoring flood plains.
• Review the system of approvals required by landowners to repair existing flood protection measures on their land.
• Increase the uptake of Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems to maximise value for money for the taxpayer. We will consult on the best ways to finance this.

Building more and better homes – pg.95

For far too long Britain has built many fewer homes than we need; unless we build enough to meet demand, year after year, we will find housing costs rise further out of reach. That is why we have set an ambitious target of increasing the rate of house building to 300,000 a year. Within the first year of the next Parliament, we will publish a long-term plan that sets out how this goal will be achieved.

Our plans will include:

• At least ten new Garden Cities in England, in areas where there is local support, providing tens of thousands of high-quality new homes, with gardens and shared green space, jobs, schools and public transport. We will encourage rural Local Authorities to follow these principles on a smaller scale, too, developing new garden villages or suburbs as part of their plans for growth.
• Up to five major new settlements along a Garden Cities Railway between Oxford and Cambridge.
• Ambitious targets for development on unwanted public sector sites through the Homes and Communities Agency, with Local Authorities given new powers to ensure development happens on any unused site in which the public sector has an interest.
• A review of Compulsory Purchase legislation to facilitate site assembly, including for Garden Cities. We will also pilot techniques for capturing the increase in land values from the granting of planning permission, helping to deliver our Garden Cities.
• A government commissioning programme to boost house building towards our 300,000 target; where the market alone fails to deliver sufficient numbers, government agencies will directly commission homes for sale and rent to fill the gap. We are already piloting this direct approach in Cambridgeshire.
• A new government-backed Housing Investment Bank to provide long-term capital for major new settlements and help attract finance for major house building projects.

Improving planning – pg.96

Good planning is essential to delivering sustainable communities. With effective planning rules, we can ensure the new homes we build are well connected to public transport, resilient to the threats of climate change, safe, warm and secure, and situated in real communities where people can easily come together. We will work with Local Authorities to ensure they think for the long term, and use their powers to facilitate an affordable local housing market.

We will:

• Put Local Authorities in the driving seat for plan-led development by requiring them to make a plan for 15 years of housing need, working collaboratively with neighbouring Councils where necessary to identify sites. We will strengthen the Duty to Cooperate to help authorities – like Cambridge, Oxford and Luton – with insufficient space within the Local Authority boundary to meet housing demand to grow, through development on sites beyond the Local Authority boundaries. This long-term approach will enable us to secure the homes we need while being much stricter about proposals that deviate from the Local Plan. We will:

❖ Create a Community Right of Appeal in cases where planning decisions go against the approved local plan, or a Local Plan that is emerging and has undergone substantive consultation.

• Require Local Authorities to keep a register of people who want a self-build plot in the local area and plan to meet demand for these plots, including through ‘affordable land’: plots on which self builders can take a long-term lease at an affordable rent and build or commission a home.