Flooding: Planning and Developer Responsibilities Debate

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Department: Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Flooding: Planning and Developer Responsibilities

Julie Minns Excerpts
Tuesday 13th May 2025

(1 day, 13 hours ago)

Westminster Hall
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Julie Minns Portrait Ms Julie Minns (Carlisle) (Lab)
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Will the hon. Member give way?

Tim Farron Portrait Tim Farron
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Go for it—contest the space.

Julie Minns Portrait Ms Minns
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Carlisle floods, as the hon. Member knows all too well, but it is not beyond the wit of responsible developers to build in a way that reduces the trauma of flooding. There is an excellent example in Carlisle, where Story Homes built townhouses with garages underneath that are designed to flood, but in a way that protects the residents. Does the hon. Member agree that we need to do more to encourage developers to be responsible and innovative in their design?

Tim Farron Portrait Tim Farron
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The hon. Member is 100% correct. It is interesting that some of the older properties in my constituency are the ones that are most resilient. In many cases, they were built hundreds of years ago to resist flooding, or for it not to be the end of the world when it does flood. The design of the new buildings in Carlisle absolutely measures up, and we should do more of that.