After months of waiting, residents of the Cornish village of Boscastle have been advised it is 'safe' to re-build their properties.
Last August a 10-foot high flash flood raged through the village after an 'extreme' weather event that completely demolished four buildings and ruined many more. At its peak, 140 tones of water rushed through the village every second and an estimated 2 million tonnes (440 million gallons) of water flowed through Boscastle that day.
Many villagers feared that it may be unsafe to rebuild. Indeed, North Cornwall Council's planning committee has already deferred two applications to rebuild shops in Boscastle's harbour area.
Residents feared they would be told that they could not repair or reconstruct buildings in the affected areas.
Yesterday the agency advised the local planning authority that "… in most cases replacing of damaged buildings should not be prevented on flood risk grounds."
Richard Horrocks, the EA regional flood defence manager, said the August flood was "one of the most serious we had seen".
He added: "Every case will be considered on its merits, but given the findings, we can now advise the planning authority that, in most cases, the replacement of damaged buildings should not be prevented on flood risk grounds."
"We will advise on measures that can be taken to reduce flood risk and continue to work closely with North Cornwall District Council on this."
"If any proposals were to come forward that would increase flood risk we would strongly oppose these."
'Safe' to re-build
The Environment Agency said the flooding that hit Boscastle and the surrounding area in North Cornwall on August 16 last year was among the most extreme ever experienced in Britain.
Technical work by a consortium of flood specialists has quantified that the flood was of such magnitude that there is a one in 400 chance of it, or a worse flood, recurring in any one year. An annual chance of 1 in 100 of river flooding is considered significant.
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The peak flow was about 140 m3/sec (tonnes), between 5:00pm and 6:00pm.
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The annual chance of this (or a greater) flood in any year of about 1 in 400
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A flow of 77 m3/sec has an annual chance of about 1 in 100
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A flow of 64 m3/sec has a chance of about 1 in 75
The findings also indicate that a smaller flood may still affect a similar area of Boscastle although to a lower depth but the Environment Agency said they would advise the Planning Authority on the basis of the lesser flow risk of one in 100.
What about other areas?
Following the experience of Boscastle, the Environment Agency is to compile a register of catchments in England and Wales where heavy rainfall is likely to give rise to very rapidly rising river levels and depth and velocity of flooding could cause extreme risk to life.
The register will help the Agency review and adapt its flood warning systems, focus its public awareness campaigns and influence local authorities planning and emergency response plans.
The Agency also wants others to recognise the importance of swift action taken by local residents and emergency services that were key factors in the Boscastle flood.
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