Tougher planning controls are needed if flood insurance is to remain widely available for new homes, an insurance trade body warned.

The Association of British Insurers (ABI) said a third of the three million new homes the Government planned to build by 2020 would be on a flood plain.

It added that during the past year alone, 13 major developments had been given the go-ahead despite advice from the Environment Agency that they would be at risk from flooding. Around seven of the sites are deemed to be at high risk from flooding, including a new caravan park and a development of bungalows.

The group warned that unless tougher planning laws were put in place, increasing numbers of homes would become unsaleable, uninsurable and uninhabitable.

Speaking at the Architects’ Journal conference, the ABI’s assistant director of property Justin Jacobs said: ‘The Government’s ambitious housing plans are in jeopardy unless we reduce the flood risk.

The group said that despite it now being a statutory requirement that the Environment Agency be consulted on new developments, planning permission was still being given despite the agency highlighting flood risks.

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