Building on Water: Can the UK Balance Housing Growth with Flood Resilience?

In Eastwood, Nottinghamshire, residents are still reeling from the aftermath of a flood that tore through their community in September 2023. Torrents of water surged down streets, damaging homes, driveways, and infrastructure. At the heart of the storm—both literally and figuratively—was a new housing development. Runoff from the building site, where more than 100 homes were being constructed, overwhelmed local defences after a makeshift dam collapsed.

The incident laid bare a growing tension across the UK: how to reconcile the government’s ambitious housebuilding agenda with the increasing risks of climate-related flooding. As the climate crisis deepens, Eastwood is fast becoming a case study in what happens when policy moves faster than planning.

The Eastwood Wake-Up Call

The flash flood in Eastwood was not just an isolated weather event; it was a warning shot. The development by Avant Homes on the former Lynncroft Primary School site had raised eyebrows from the start. But it wasn’t until the dam collapse sent a surge of water into neighbouring streets that local concerns were validated in the worst way.

In the wake of the disaster, Broxtowe Borough Council halted the development and launched an investigation. Residents, some of whom suffered repeated flooding during subsequent storms Babet and Henk, were left demanding answers—and accountability.

A Minister on the Ground

In March 2025, Emma Hardy, the Minister for Water and Flooding, travelled to Eastwood to meet residents and reassure them that lessons would be learned. During her visit, she reiterated the government’s commitment to ensuring future developments do not worsen flood risks. Central to her message was the promise of stronger requirements for Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems (SuDS).

SuDS mimic natural water processes, allowing surface water to soak into the ground or flow slowly into watercourses, rather than rushing into drains. While they’re increasingly required in new developments, implementation and oversight remain patchy. Hardy pledged reforms to tighten regulations and funding to support local councils in enforcement.

The Numbers Don't Lie

Despite political assurances, data paints a more worrying picture. According to an investigation by The Guardian, more than 100,000 new homes in England could be built in areas deemed at highest risk of flooding by the end of this parliamentary term. Many of these developments are located on floodplains, often with inadequate drainage or emergency planning.

The Environment Agency has flagged repeated concerns over such developments, warning that flood risk is being systematically underestimated or ignored in planning decisions. Yet, as councils struggle with housing quotas and developers push forward, local objections are frequently overridden.

A Nation on Shifting Ground

The Eastwood flood is part of a wider national pattern. In the last five years, the UK has seen a sharp rise in the frequency and intensity of floods. What were once considered “once in a century” events now happen every few years.

Communities in places like York, Bewdley, and Hebden Bridge know this all too well. Inadequate drainage, hard landscaping, and the erosion of green spaces only make things worse. In many towns, new developments have gone up without proper regard for how water will move during storms.

In this context, SuDS are a start—but far from a panacea. Retrofitting older areas, rewilding urban waterways, and investing in long-term flood defences will all be critical. Yet these measures require political will, public support, and—crucially—money.

Designing for the Deluge

In a more hopeful development, some architects and engineers are beginning to think radically about how we build. London-based Baca Architects have pioneered amphibious housing—homes that rest on fixed foundations but rise with floodwaters, floating like boats in times of need. The technology is proven, used in flood-prone areas in the Netherlands, and could be adapted for parts of Britain.

Elsewhere, initiatives are exploring “blue-green infrastructure”: parks and wetlands that double as flood basins, permeable pavements that reduce runoff, and community rain gardens that manage stormwater beautifully and effectively.

These ideas are no longer niche. They are increasingly necessary, especially in places like Eastwood where conventional flood defences have already shown their limits.

Navigating the Deluge: Designing Homes for a Wetter Britain

The Eastwood floods have prompted soul-searching across councils, construction firms, and central government. But this is not just a story about one town—it’s about the choices we make as a nation.

Can we meet housing targets without condemning new homeowners to soggy carpets and ruined lives? Can developers be held accountable for downstream impacts? Can sustainability be embedded into the very fabric of our future neighbourhoods?

Answering these questions means doing more than promising change after each disaster. It means designing not just for people, but for place—for water, weather, and the world as it is, not as we wish it were.

In a Britain where rain is now a threat as much as a fact of life, resilience must become as integral to housing as bricks and mortar. Navigating the deluge won’t be easy—but failing to do so would be far worse.