Building on flood plains: there's money in it

In the last twelve years, local councils in Wales ignored the advice of the Welsh equivalent of the environment agency no less than 341times and allowed housing and business premises to be built on land prone to flooding. Think about it: 341 times!


On BBC Wales news last night a councillor came on saying words to the effect of, well, there's a housing shortage, right? and besides it's different with businesses because no one lives in them, so...


Now I know councils often have very difficult decisions to make and must consider a wide variety of conflicting interests, but in this bloggers opinion this demonstrates the most astonishing level of short-sightedness perhaps ever witnessed in Wales. Yes, there's a housing shortage here, as in the rest of Britain, but what on earth is the point in putting new houses where they are likely to be ruined within a few years, as indeed has happened on several occasions? And now even the climate change deniers are looking a little foolish and beginning to change their tune in the face of overwhelming evidence, these 341 decisions to ignore advice from people who actually know what they are talking about is beginning to look just plain dumb. I'd like to see some of the people who bought these houses, only to see them flooded sue the councillors who made those idiotic decisions, or force them to pay compensation in other ways. They are to blame, and they should pay.