The proposal is to develop mainly on flood-plain land, with many of the homes downstream of the Thames Barrier.
Jenny Jones, Green Party Member of the London Assembly, is questioning the London Development Agency about the wisdom of this decision, when the results of the major study of the effects of flooding in the Thames Gateway is not due for another five years.
A number of disturbing reasons have led Greens to question advisability of building on Thames Gateway flood plain. These include:
* Results of the Environment Agency study on flooding and
development is not expected until 2008/9, and even interim results are not yet available.
* There is no clear flood management strategy for the areas where
the home will be built.
* The Association of British Insurers have raised concerns about
whether it will be possible to provide insurance for such large scale development, given flood risks. Even if they can provide insurance, the cost to householders could make the homes very unaffordable.
* A senior sustainability consultant recently said that the
protection of the Gateway would be increasingly untenable with rising sea levels, creating spiralling costs.
* A green grid of open spaces is regarded as essential to flood
management, yet it has little funding, neither has the necessary land been secured.
Jenny Jones said, "Before giving the for 90,000 homes the least you would expect is that a clear plan for flood management would be drawn up. Without a strategy, and without knowing the outcome of the Environment Agency study of flooding, building on this floodplain could be unsustainable, risky and very expensive.
It is important to realise what flooding really means. First, it means problems getting insurance for your house, but also can mean loss of life. In 1953, 300 people died on the east coast through storm surge. This kind of disaster will arise with increasing frequency with climate change combined with land tilting in south east England."
NOTES FOR EDITORS
1. Jenny Jones questioned the LDA and Mayor’s advisors on Thames
Gateway at a meeting of the London Assembly, Wednesday 17 March at City Hall, London SE1.
2. Roger Levett, sustainability consultant, recently told the
London Assembly Environment Committee that the protection of the Gateway would be increasingly untenable with rising sea levels, creating spiralling costs.
ENDS