The Flood Hub

Climate change is increasing the frequency and severity of flooding across the UK, placing homes, businesses and communities at greater risk, and building resilience to flooding requires more than infrastructure alone. It also requires competent professionals who can assess risk, advise property owners and deliver effective Property Flood Resilience (PFR) measures that reduce damage and support faster recovery.

Through a new collaboration, CIWEM and Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) will work together to increase awareness, uptake and visibility of professional Property Flood Resilience training and certification across the surveying profession. RICS will support the ongoing development and promotion of CIWEM’s PFR training programme and Specialist Register to its members.

This will be made possible through the RICS ‘Find a Surveyor’ service, which will allow consumers to identify firms offering flooding-related services, including firms whose professionals have completed CIWEM’s PFR training and joined the Specialist Register.

Delivering the FloodReady Action Plan

The FloodReady Action Plan identified the need to improve awareness, competence and professional assurance across the sectors responsible for delivering flood resilience. It specifically highlighted the importance of engaging organisations such as RICS to help align training, competency frameworks and professional standards.

CIWEM, in partnership with the Environment Agency, has already developed a comprehensive training programme aligned to the Code of Practice for Property Flood Resilience, alongside an independently assessed Specialist Register that provides assurance of professional competence. Progress reporting on the FloodReady Action Plan notes that CIWEM and RICS have been working together to increase access to training and consolidate routes for property owners and businesses to find appropriately qualified professionals.

This collaboration represents a significant step forward in delivering those recommendations and making resilience expertise more accessible.

Benefits for the sector and property owners

Together, CIWEM and RICS will:

• Increase the number of surveyors with recognised competence in Property Flood Resilience.
• Improve confidence among homeowners, businesses, insurers and other organisations managing flood risk when seeking professional advice.
• Strengthen consistency and quality in the assessment, design and delivery of PFR measures.
• Support the wider adoption of industry good practice and the Property Flood Resilience Code of Practice.
• Provide greater visibility of qualified professionals through trusted professional routes.

Ultimately, this will help ensure more people and properties are better prepared for future flooding, reducing damage, disruption and recovery times for people and their communities.

Demonstrating the collaboration needed for climate resilience

No single organisation can address the growing challenge of climate risk alone. Building resilience requires government, regulators, professional institutions, businesses and practitioners to work together around shared standards, objectives and trusted routes to competence.

By working together, CIWEM and RICS are demonstrating the kind of cross-sector collaboration envisaged by the FloodReady Action Plan. Combining expertise in flood resilience and the built environment will help strengthen the skills, knowledge and professional assurance needed to support communities facing increasing flood risk.

As the UK adapts to a changing climate, collaborations such as this will play a critical role in embedding resilience into professional practice, improving decision-making and helping to build a nation that is better prepared for the challenges ahead.

John Curtin, CIWEM President, said:

• “Flood resilience ultimately comes down to people being able to get the right advice and take practical action. By working with RICS, we can help property owners and businesses identify professionals who have recognised, independently assessed expertise in Property Flood Resilience.
• “That gives people greater confidence in the advice they receive and helps turn the ambitions of the Flood Ready Action Plan into action on the ground. With flood risk increasing, collaborations like this are an important part of helping more people and places become better prepared.”

Minister of State for Water and Flooding, Emma Hardy MP, said:

• “Flooding is truly devastating, turning lives upside down and leaving communities facing enormous uncertainty.
• “Getting the right advice as a homeowner or business shouldn’t be a struggle, and this partnership means trusted, dependable expertise will be easier to find when people need it most.
• “As we invest £10.5 billion by March 2036 towards new flood schemes, this government is pleased to support this excellent example of collaboration in action, helping people prepare for the worst and recover more quickly when it happens.”

 

For more information and for a link to the original article, please click here.