Scotland to get 25-year flood protection plan
Date: 19/05/2008 13:12:11
Scotland is stepping up a bid to protect homes against flooding as an inquiry into the issue continues.
A 25-year plan for flood management is one idea being pushed by Scottish MSPs ahead of new legislation being passed later this year.
The BBC reports the Scottish Parliament's rural and envrionmental affairs committee also wants the Scottish Environment Protection Agency to be in charge of flood-risk management.
Quoted by the BBC, committee convener Roseanna Cunningham said: "Preventing all flooding is impossible but it is essential that as a society we become better at managing it."
As part of the inquiry, the Association of British Insurers, representing
home insurance providers and their customers, called for a 25-year flood management strategy.
In December, 2006 parts of Scotland were hit by severe flooding six months before 44,000 English homes were submerged during the wettest summer on record.
The Scottish government then announced an inquiry into the issue with a view to passing a new flood protection law later this year.