New flood protection guide available now for homeowners and landlords

A new guide is available now for residents, business owners and landlords with advice and guidance to protect homes and businesses from flooding.

The Householder's Guide to Flood Protection lays out the steps people can take to help prevent flood water from damaging their home. The guide also includes helpful advice about which interventions can happen without permission from the Council and which require planning permission.

Cllr Cem Kemahli, lead member for planning and place, said:

"We are working hard to do what we can to reduce our own environmental impact by making our Council buildings and schools greener, but we must be realistic about climate change. The risk of flash flooding around the world is increasing and this guide has been designed to make it easier for people to understand how to protect their own properties and build that resilience across our communities. Some interventions like toilet bungs and flood gates can be very simple and relatively inexpensive, but go a very long way to protecting a home or business in a flood event."

Is my property at risk of flooding?

The vast majority of properties in the borough are at low or no risk to flooding. However, an estimated 20,000 properties are at risk of flash flooding and every time flood water enters a home, the impacts can be devastating. You can check if your property is at risk of surface water flooding on the gov.uk flood risk checker.

Why is there a flood protection guide?

Current predictions are for flash flooding in London to be more frequent and more extreme because of climate change. Most recently the devastating impacts of flash flooding have been seen in Spain, and we have seen flooding in recent history in the borough, with over 500 properties impacted in July 2021.

The Council has a local flood management strategy to help communities build their resilience to flooding and create adaptive places that respond to the impacts of extreme weather and contribute to reducing the flood risk. The Houeholders' Guide to Flood Protection is another tool our communities can use to protect themselves and build flood resilience.

What can I do to protect my home from flooding?

Some simple and relatively inexpensive measures can help, such as flood gates or toilet bungs. Waterbutts can collect surface water to resue at dryer times and planting and greening is more permeable than hard surfaces, like paving, if you are redoing your garden or driveway. Full details of the interventions available and how to go about making them in your home are available in the guide.