Poll: Should developers be stopped from building housing on land prone to flooding?

The Government has a target to build a million new homes by the end of the decade to meet rising demand.

But current planning laws make it too easy to connect new developments to existing mains drainage, which are already above capacity, instead of putting in more sustainable systems that reduce flood risk, the report said.

There have been a series of cases in Shropshire when plans for new homes have been approved despite wide-scale concerns from residents about the risk of flooding.

In 2015 plans to build 25 homes on land at risk of flooding in Wem were approved behind closed doors.

The homes will be built on land off Roden Grove after planning officers at Shropshire Council gave the project their blessing.

But neighbours have said the land is a problem site for flooding, and said their own gardens were often covered in surface water for weeks on end.

With sustainable drainage systems, rainfall running off new roofs, driveways and roads is caught in ponds, bog gardens or other natural features that release it slowly into the ground.

Such systems can be installed affordably and without delay in nearly all developments, and are cost-effective when included early in the planning process, according to the report by Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management (CIWEM) and the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust (WWT). But a survey of 539 industry professionals conducted by organisations including CIWEM and WWT found 70 per cent think planning policies do not sufficiently encourage sustainable drainage systems.

Almost two-thirds thought the Government's non-statutory standards for sustainable options were not effective.

And three quarters thought local authorities did not have the in-house expertise to check and advise on sustainable options, or challenge proposals that could increase flood risk.

Overwhelmed drains are the most common type of flooding in towns, costing the economy £260 million a year.

New developments can worsen that flood risk not just locally, but for communities downstream, the report said.

It is a growing problem, with more people living in towns and changing weather patterns delivering more intense rainstorms.

After the devastating 2007 floods, much of which were caused by surface water, laws were passed to require developers to exhaust "sustainable drainage system" options before connecting to the mains, but they have largely not been implemented.

The CIWEM and WWT are calling for the Government to strengthen planning law so that all new developments would use sustainable drainage where possible.

There should be better standards to ensure developers build quality schemes that improve local water quality and wildlife, and the Government should review the wider impacts of such projects with a view to rolling them out to older buildings.

CIWEM chief executive Terry Fuller said: "We recognise the urgent need for one million new homes but it is pointless to build in a way that creates flood risk for the future."