The trade body representing major property developers has welcomed the floods bill in the Queen’s Speech.
It is now urging ministers to stop consulting and deliver some firm action before the General Election.
The British Property Federation (BPF) also expressed concern at the lack of extra funding, but said that giving the Environment Agency more power to act on flood risk would help by offering a greater degree of clarity over who was responsible.
The bill includes plans to tackle surface flood risk and encourages developers to implement sustainable urban drainage systems (SUDs). However, issues over viability could make development and house building more costly if such measures are demanded inappropriately.
The BPF is worried that councils do not have the necessary skills to deal with many of these measures and that the proposals do not take account of viability, in terms of the land required or the cost. For instance, in dense urban areas such as Westminster, it would be impossible to build a large pond to drain water and in many places SUDs would be too costly and push up the price of homes.
Liz Peace, chief executive of the BPF said: "Landlords and insurers are still likely to have reservations over the government’s funding commitment for flood defences. While the proposals will go some way to reducing risk, what we need to see an end to this obsession with consultation and some real action to pass these quite urgent measures."
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