Thousands of homes are without power after Storm Frank as people brace themselves formore flooding. Floods have caused havoc across much of the UK. Have decisions made by the public and politicians alike made things worse?
Dozens of flood warnings remain in place with north-east Scotland at risk of heavy rainfall on Sunday and Monday.
Here are some of the things that it has been suggested have contributed to the problem.
After floods in 2007 that affected 55,000 homes, the government commissioned areview chaired by Sir Michael Pitt to ensure it didn't happen again. The review said it wasn't possible to prevent all building on floodplains but recommended that there should be a strong presumption against it. It also said buildings should avoid creating flood problems for themselves or their neighbours.
But large-scale building on floodplains has continued. In fact, according to the Committee on Climate Change (CCC), housing in areas where flooding is likely has grown at a rate of 1.2% per year since 2011, while the building of residential properties in areas of low risk has risen by just 0.7% over the same period.
Policy-makers are often keen to see brownfield land used for residential development, but these areas are often most vulnerable to flooding. Demand from buyers has fuelled this growth, too.
You might assume that there would be huge drops in property prices after highly publicised floods. But in places like Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire, and Cockermouth, Cumbria, which experienced heavy flooding in 2007 and 2009 respectively, prices have remained largely unaffected in the long run.
Dredging
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The argument over dredging has been going strong since floods in Somerset in 2013-14. At the time, farmers claimed that lack of river dredging had been making the problem worse. "Somerset is suffering from the impacts of two decades of underinvestment with the cessation of dredging along the lowland rivers Parrett and Tone," said the National Farmers Union in their Flooding Manifesto.
Dredging removes the silt that builds up at the bottom of rivers and deepens the channel. Some people say that it helps prevent flooding by making the water flow faster and more efficiently. Supporters of dredging have complained that the European Water Framework Directive prevents it being carried out.
But others have argued that it's not a good idea because the river can still be overwhelmed. When this happens it can cause faster and more dangerous floods downstream. "We've tended to straighten rivers, to canalise them, to embank them and all that rushes the water down to the nearby urban pinch point," explains environmentalist and writer George Monbiot, adding that the flow of water should be slowed down and the rivers lengthened instead.
River straightening
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One way of encouraging a river to take its time in getting to its destination - and therefore reduce the risk of flooding - is to allow it to make large bends called meanders or to braid itself into a network of smaller channels. These twists and turns can help prevent flash floods from racing their way down at full force.
"There still has to be somewhere for that rain to go, you are not going to be able to hold it all back in the hills," explains Monbiot.
Reconnecting a river with its flood plain can also help prevent extreme events downstream. This allows the river to flood in certain areas, storing water in fields until it can be released slowly once the danger has passed. But this has to be controlled.
"If it's not managed carefully, obviously that flooding can have a serious impact on the farming business," says Rob Howells, the NFU's Water Quality Adviser. "The protection of the urban area has to be planned in conjunction with the protection of rural areas to make sure that everything is joined up and to make sure that you are not having unintended consequences elsewhere," he adds.
Destruction of upland habitats
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Trees can act as a natural flood defence. They have roots that reach deep into the soil, loosening it and allowing water to drain down more easily. A hillside covered in thick vegetation tends to release water more slowly than a bare hill. The compacted soil of farmland can also make the problem worse by reducing the ground's ability to hold water.
This is especially important upstream. Planting woodlands at a stream's upper reaches could help delay the water from reaching the main river. Trees can also end up providing small dams, although this needs to be managed with care.
Beavers would do this work for free, adds Monbiot. "They could be a very useful tool in preventing floods."
The Environment Agency has said that large areas of trees would need to be replanted for them to really make a difference. Flood defences on farmlands upstream might also not have had much effect in preventing the current flooding. "The levels of rainfall in the North West on already saturated ground were unprecedented," says a spokesman from the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra). "It is unlikely flood protection on farmland would have made a material difference in such an exceptional flood."
Blanket bogs also play a key role in soaking up rainfall upstream. The peaty soil of a bog can be up to 90% water. Sphagnum mosses growing there can also hold water like a sponge. But many blanket bogs have been drained and their peat cut out which can increase the risk of flooding downstream.
Some people argue that there is not much incentive for farmers to keep land covered in thick vegetation because of EU rules. Land covered with "permanent ineligible features" such as ponds, dense scrub and some woodland can be disqualified from farm subsidies.
Woodland cover has increased in the UK since its lowest point during World War One but the UK is still one of the least wooded countries in Europe. "Planting trees can help to slow the flow of rivers and has an important role to play in reducing flood risk but they need to be located carefully to make sure that they are actually being beneficial," adds Howells.
Flood defences
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Critics have focused on the effectiveness of existing barriers. Carlisle's £38m flood-defence scheme was breached despite having been constructed only five years before, with an additional half-metre (1ft 8in) added on top to allow for the effects of climate change. There was anger at the decision to lift York's Foss Barrier, a key part of the city's flood defence system, because its pumps were at risk of electrical failure.
During its first year in office, the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition announced it was cutting spending on flood defences by 8% compared with previous yearly spend - though the Environment Agency said at the time that the budget had actually been reduced by 27% in cash terms.
Critics have said reductions in maintenance budgets have worsened the problem. Judith Blake, the leader of Leeds City Council said there was a "north-south divide" in efforts to prevent flooding. She said the north of England had not seen "anywhere near the support that we saw going into Somerset", which flooded in 2014, and pointed out that the government had cut funding for a flood defence project in Leeds in 2011. She said there was now a "real anger growing across the North".
However, the prime minister said the government had spent more per head of the population on flood defences in the north than in the south and that £2.3bn would be spent on flood defences by 2020. The government has ordered a major review of flood prevention strategy.
A Defra spokeswoman said £1.7bn of investment into new or expanded flood defences in the previous parliament was an increase on spending from the previous administration. The spokeswoman added that a new six-year spending programme - replacing an annual bidding process for flood defence schemes - has allowed the government to make a long term commitment to protect the £171m spent each year on maintaining defences in real terms.
The concentration of Britons in urban areas - 82% live in towns and cities - has made them especially vulnerable to flooding because concrete surfaces, unlike soil, are almost completely impenetrable to water.
And even when new flood defences are built to protect homes in one area, there are complaints that they often simply cause flooding elsewhere. When the Berkshire town of Wraysbury flooded in 2014, residents said they were being used as "sacrificial lambs" to prevent Maidenhead from being flooded.
Climate change
Cameron has made a link between the floods and climate change. The government anticipates trends which have seen drier summers and wetter winters in the UK to continue. The UK Climate Projections of 2009 estimated a sea-level rise of between 13cm and 76cm for the UK by 2095.
The prime minister has said climate change is one of the biggest challenges the country faces and the government has announced plans for the UK's coal plants to be phased out within 10 years. The Environment Secretary recently announced a National Flood Resilience Review that would look again at flood risk, including the future impact of climate change.
Labour have said climate change should be treated as a national security issue and urged the government to do more. Environmental campaigners have criticisedministers for cutting support for green energy sources.
The climate change summit in Paris agreed a deal to attempt to limit the rise in global temperatures to less than 2C. However, Monbiot says "we have to take urgent action on climate change and go a lot further than the Paris agreement proposed".
Oxford City Council in partnership with Design Council Cabe established the Oxford Design Review Panel (ODRP) in 2014. The City Council and Cabe are committed to promoting high quality design and helping to create better places and environments in the city. I asked Keith Bradley and Joanna van Heyningen to share some of the insights they unearthed in their roles as Chairs of the ODRP.
Keith Bradley and Joanna van Heyningen, chairs of the ODRP.
What are the opportunities and challenges of working with an internationally renowned and historic city such as Oxford?
JvH - Oxford is unique: of course it's got the university with its world class buildings, but it's a large city, and outside the centre there are huge variety of developments, from the Victorian streets of north Oxford to pre- and post-war estates to the east and south. Some of it is quite rural. There is the opportunity to help Oxford develop as a fine modern city within its historic context, and the challenge of helping to bring up the standards of some of the lesser known parts. Traffic is a very big issue, particularly as it does not fall within the remit of the City Council's responsibility. And, of course, housing: there is a desperate need for more housing, and it is not obvious where it should go; the Green Belt is at threat.
Oxford's skyline is at threat.
KB - The older historic areas of the city are less challenging than the more recent outlying suburbs and villages. The former have more inherent rules, guidelines and expectations, while the latter have more interrelated environmental issues, such as social need, transportation and regeneration. The fringes need our attention as much as the commercial centre, universities and colleges.
What do you think are the key issues that need to be addressed to ensure design quality is more integral to the development and growth of Oxford as a successful place to live, work and visit?
The whole city needs to be considered in context.
Joanna van Heyningen, co-chair of the ODRP
JvH - The whole city needs to be considered in context - it’s important to think beyond the edge of an individual site and consider pedestrian, bike and public transport connections. You need to think about making places, not just buildings.
Employ a design team, not just architects, from the start. Landscape should be key in place-making and decision making, as it's about so much more than choosing plants. Finally, be brave. Good design is not just about problem solving, it's about having a clear vision of what is right.
KB - An ‘Integrated Public Realm’ – [allowing for] connectivity, both socially and environmentally, [and] all beautifully executed.
What have been the challenges, positive outcomes and learning that have been gained from the ODRP over the past year?
JvH - The whole experience has been good. Oxford City Council's planning and heritage officers were supportive from the start, and we have all learned from one another. This has been very positive. The greatest challenges have been when projects are presented to us that are poor and ill thought through. ODRP can help to bring about significant improvements in these if we see them well before a planning application is made. Our letters only contain comments that we have made face to face.
The evidence is that we have been able to steer projects helpfully, and that this approach is particularly fruitful the earlier we see a project in advance of a full planning application. It is much more difficult if the project has already been submitted. I think one of the most positive outcomes from our year's work has been that clients and design teams have come to realise that we are there to help them, and that they stand a greater chance of achieving planning permission if they have been open to the process.
Having the conversations early is key to a successful Design Review.
Keith Bradley, co-chair of the ODRP
KB - Having the conversations early is key to a successful Design Review. On the more significant schemes, a follow up review or series of reviews allows discussion on the key design stages and has ensured coherence in both design and review responses.
What cities [nationally or globally] inspire you?
JvH – [My favourites include] Copenhagen, Newcastle, Xian, Lucca, Bordeaux and San Francisco.
Copenhagen is inspiring for its holistic built environment, people and nature ethic.
KB - I live in Bath, which is a fantastic historically important model city, but has (like Oxford) problems with contemporary life! I mostly work in London which is a great example of an evolving city responding positively to change. Internationally, New York (Manhattan Island) for lessons in high density living. Copenhagen and Helsinki have that Scandinavian holistic built environment, people and nature meeting ethic.
Which particular cities do you think have successfully delivered growth, bringing together contemporary well designed development and heritage?
JvH - Copenhagen has integrated its heritage districts and expanded its areas that are on the periphery, like Orestad.
The legacy of the 1992 Olympic Games and the respect for the Cerda plan in Barcelona highlights successfully delivered growth. Finally, Portland in Oregon, with its Pearl District, is a great combination of both new and old.
Examples of successful cities
Orestad, on the periphery of Copenhagen, has expanded successfully.
KB - The World Heritage city of Vienna seems to done a very good job of high quality urban expansion. I’d also choose Berlin, for its cultural and heritage regeneration.
Summing up
JvH - This first year of ODRP has been rewarding. The way we conduct our reviews is very open - and this has led to some really good, non-confrontational and constructive conversations between the applicants, their design teams, the council and ourselves.
KB – [The outcome we wish to derive is that] the Cabe Design Review process and protocols help Oxford achieve a higher quality of design.
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