Protecting the Historic Environment from Inland Flooding in the UK: Some Thoughts on Current Approaches to Asset Management in the Light of Planning Policy, Changing Catchment Hydrology and Climate Change

Abstract

The impacts of both summer and winter flooding have been acutely felt across the inland areas of the UK over the last decade and under scenarios of future climate change, such events are likely to become more commonplace. Whilst significant emphasis is inevitably placed during such emergencies on securing basic major infrastructure (transport, power and water), there is also a need to consider how best to protect the Historic Environment. A recent Historic England funded project undertaken by the authors has sought to map the distribution of historic sites against known flood hotspots in Worcestershire to create a GIS resource tool for use by emergency planners and other non-heritage specialists. In addition to the development of a project GIS, a number of further studies were undertaken to consider best practice for flood alleviation, explore the impacts of past events on infrastructure and communities, and the building of resilience through community action. During the lifecycle of the project, a number of key issues and challenges were identified with respect to mitigating and managing the impacts of flooding upon the Historic Environment, before, during and after such events. The Met Office’s decision to begin naming severe storms from the autumn of 2015 and the associated devastating impacts of early examples, such as ‘Desmond’ and ‘Frank’ are leading to an ever-increasing focus on extreme events; therefore, the themes explored in this paper have resonance beyond the administrative boundaries of Worcestershire and are presented within the broader framework of environmental management.