New research conducted by Flood Technology Group has laid bare the scale of the threat that flooding now poses to the UK’s residential and holiday park sector.

For the first time, the flood risk to parks across all regions of the UK (England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland) has been assessed in detail as part of an analysis that incorporates the Environment Agency’s latest NaFRA2 (National Flood Risk Assessment 2) mapping for England, which was released last month.

It shows that 30 per cent of all UK residential and holiday parks are now at risk of flooding. This equates to more than 1,100 parks in all, or 143,000 individual caravans and lodges. Of those at risk, 19,000 are residential park homes and 124,000 are holiday caravans or lodges. 

Although the research reveals that 61,000 of the affected properties are afforded some level of protection by existing flood defences, maintained by national government and local authorities, 82,000 have no formal flood protection in place at all. What’s more, 50,000 of those with no flood protection face the highest level of flood risk because, according to the Environment Agency’s flood risk assessment definitions for England, they’re located on what’s known as ‘Flood Zone 3’ land or in areas of Scotland, Wales and Ireland with an equally high level of flood risk (the definitions used have slightly different names in each region of the UK).

Simon Gilliland, Chief Executive of Flood Technology Group, who commissioned the research, said:

Responding to the findings, Kevin Minnear, Head of Underwriting at Compass (a specialist insurer for the holiday and residential park sector, which has endorsed Flood Technology Group’s innovative technology), said: “Unlike bricks and mortar holiday homes, static caravans are particularly susceptible to damage from storms or floods. We saw over £3 million worth of insurance claims for flood damage in 2024, three times more than in 2023*. 

“Given the unpredictability of the British weather, it’s vital that holiday parks and caravan owners are suitably prepared, especially in light of Flood Technology Group’s research findings. “While we know caravan parks do everything they can to protect the units on their site all year round, gusty winds, heavy rainfall and the resultant flooding remain out of their control. Caravan owners should make sure that they have adequate insurance for their units and keep them maintained to minimise any damage.”

References: *Compass claims data from November 2023 to November 2024.

Story by Flood Technology Group