Pitt advises against short-term solutions to combat damage to buildings from floods

The government has warned that the money devoted to construction from flood defence funds is insufficient.

Sir Michael Pitt, chair of ‘Learning Lessons from the 2007 Floods’ review, said it was hard to speculate how much was needed due to “construction costs moving ahead of other inflation”.

He also warned against short-term solutions and argued that effective risk management and investment in infrastructure could involve a planning span of up to 25 years.

The comment came during an evidence session at the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs select committee report on flooding.

Pitt said: “To undertake major civil engineering projects you need a long lead time and it helps the industry to know what’s happening and how much money is likely to be devoted to the project.”

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