Camden recently issued for public comment a draft flood risk management strategy for 2022-2027. The Forum provided detailed comments.

The Forum broadly welcomed the strategy but commented that Camden needed to pay more attention to the contribution of groundwater to flooding and to the effects of cumulative basement construction.

Planning regulations and decisions should be better aligned with managing flood risk. Basement impact assessments should consider the effects — not just on a property’s immediate surroundings but on the broader neighbourhood — of increasing run-off and directing groundwater straight to sewers.