The commencement of the publication by the Environment Agency of flood maps that show the danger of flooding from surface water will be an unwelcome development for homeowners in the areas shown on the maps as ‘high’ flood risk – where the likelihood of a flood is assessed as being about 1 in 30 each year.
There are fears that the maps will lead to depressed property values in the high-risk areas, and possibly also a lack of awareness of the potential for problems in areas deemed to be medium risk.
The Environment Agency has a whole series of maps, which are searchable by postcode, outlining different sorts of flood and erosion risk, plus other environmental data such as air and drinking water pollution.