… About 12,000 planning applications to build up to nine properties each on flood plains did not receive specific advice from the EA in 2013 due to staffing cuts, the report finds.

As a result, more than 100,000 homes could have been built without proper oversight to ensure that they are safe, resilient and do not increase the risk of flooding elsewhere.

More than 800 jobs – 20 per cent of staff – have been lost in the Environment Agency (EA)’s flood risk management team since September 2010, with more than half of those in roles specifically tasked with avoiding floods, despite ministers’ pledges to protect frontline jobs, the CCC warns.
Key pieces of legislation designed to reduce the risk of floods by improving drainage from new properties have not been properly implemented, despite being recommended by the 2008 Pitt review into the floods the previous year, which left 13 people dead and 45,000 homes flooded.”