Local planning authorities (LPAs) in England gave the go ahead for 13 major developments in 2006/07 against Environment Agency advice on flood risk, new figures reveal.

The developments included a number of housing and infrastructure projects, including a new access road in Suffolk. Of the 13 proposals contrary to EA advice, seven lay within flood zone 3 (FZ3), described as being at ‘high risk’, or having a one-in-100 or greater annual probability of river flooding.

The annual monitoring report on Development and flood risk shows that in cases where the EA objected on flood risk grounds and local authorities had informed the agency of the final outcome, 96% were in line with that advice – up 1% on 2005/06.

But chief executive Baroness Young said it was ‘unacceptable’ that 13 major developments were granted planning permission against EA advice.

‘The summer 2007 floods showed the damage that flooding, either from rivers or from surface water, can cause. The right decisions about the location, design and nature of development must be made to protect people and the environment – especially in the face of climate change,’ she said.

Construction of an access road in Stowmarket, incorporating new junction arrangements and a bridge, was approved by Mid Suffolk District Council, despite EA objections that the development might lead to a loss of flood storage capacity. In addition, the flood risk assessment submitted was for a different site to the one actually proposed.

‘From the information submitted it was not clear whether the bridge proposal would impede flood flows by encroaching into FZ3,’ the report said. The report also found that LPAs did not inform the EA of their decisions in 43% of the cases where an objection was made. However, Baroness Young said the new requirements under the Government’s planning policy (PPS25) to notify the EA will ‘hopefully mean local authorities take this more seriously in the future’