World first flood-adaptive house approved

Flood Technology Group has been given the green light to create the world’s first fully flood adaptive house by fitting its award-winning Flood Adaptive Platform to a residential property on a flood-prone, riverside site in Nottinghamshire.

This latest project will see Flood Technology Group’s ground-breaking technology being fitted to an existing residential property for the very first time after planning consent was secured from Rushcliffe Borough Council, the local planning authority. Permission was granted subject to a series of planning conditions aimed at reducing the risk of flooding to the development and its occupants. As a statutory consultee, the Environment Agency stipulated that a Flood Adaptive Platform should be installed on the basis that it would ‘represent significant betterment’ of the existing dwelling.

The house in question is a timber-framed, chalet-style property in a picturesque setting on Zouch Island, which is located on the River Soar and forms part of the hamlet of Zouch on the Nottinghamshire/Leicestershire border. Due to the canalisation of the River Soar, the hamlet is made up of several islands. It has been officially designated a Flood Warning Area, and properties there have flooded on several occasions in recent years.

Keen to future-proof the detached property by giving it the unique ability to evade rising flood water, its owner contacted Flood Technology Group for help. The organisation’s team of flood risk experts confirmed that it would be possible to retrospectively install a Flood Adaptive Platform, making it possible for the entire house to be lifted two metres above ground level when the River Soar is in flood. The property’s owner has even been able to access a property flood resilience grant from DEFRA, the UK government Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, towards the cost of the game-changing, world-first property flood resilience project.

Simon Gilliland, Chief Executive of Flood Technology Group, explained:

“We’re very excited about this project, which is a world first! We’re particularly pleased to note that the planning conditions requested by the Environment Agency specifically stipulated that a Flood Adaptive Platform should be installed as a means of reducing the risk of flooding to the existing property and its occupants.

“It’s also great news that the home owner has been able to access property flood resilience grant funding from DEFRA towards the cost of the project, which is further evidence of the high regard in which our products are held by flood risk experts. The Flood Adaptive Platform has already been successfully applied to modular buildings, caravans, holiday lodges and mobile homes, but this is the first time we’ve fitted it to an existing house.

“We know that our flood adaptive technology has enormous potential to protect people, property, assets and infrastructure across many different sectors in locations across the globe. Although this technology has been developed and tested over more than a decade, Flood Technology Group is only just over two years old and this project is just the latest in a series of exciting ‘firsts’ as we continue to evolve and grow our offering, rolling our unique products out across multiple sectors, both here in the UK and abroad.”

Simon added:

“The properties on Zouch Island enjoy a beautiful riverside location but have become increasingly vulnerable to flooding as a result of climate change. We’re absolutely delighted to be able to help the owner of this particular property to future-proof his home.”

Mark Harris, the owner of the property, said: “My collaboration with Flood Technology Group started before I even purchased the plot, ensuring that I already had a solution to the ongoing challenges posed by flooding in the area in place. The team’s continued support has enabled me to proceed with confidence.

“It has been a complete pleasure working with Flood Technology Group through this very demanding project. I feel extremely proud to be part of such an innovative and pioneering solution to an ongoing environmental issue. I couldn’t be happier with this outcome, which has given me peace of mind about the future safety of my property in its challenging, but naturally idyllic, location.”

The Flood Adaptive Platform is a multi-purpose, mechanical jack system designed to detect and react to flood conditions by automatically elevating above the rising water. It works in conjunction with FloodAdapt, a highly advanced Flood Early Warning System made up of a series of industry-approved smart sensors, which are installed around it to detect a flood event. Within 15 seconds, these sensors trigger the control panel, prompting the mechanical jacks to automatically lift the whole structure above the water level until it’s safe for it to return to ground level.

Story by Flood Technology Group