Building houses on flood plains

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Why, why, why? Much as I feel sorry for the people caught up in the last fortnight's heavy rain and flooding in the UK, why do builders keep building houses in areas prone to flooding? I've a personal contact in one of the worst hit areas and apparently their house has been flooded out 3 times in the last 5 years. Why was the house built there in the first place? Recently, when I was looking into buying a new house, there was one I liked but according to the Environment Agency's web site it was within the flood plain of the local river. I enquired about this with the estate agent, only to receive the reply "Oh, I wouldn't worry, it's not flooded that I know of in the last five years(!) and anyway, you can get insurance for it" Err.... I don't want insurance to cover the hassle and expense, I'd rather not get flooded and all my stuff damaged in the first place.....

If builders MUST build in a marginal area, at least build the houses up above ground level. Another friend of mine has a house that's raised up 6 feet above ground level. Sure it floods every few years, but the water's never yet entered her house 8-)

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