A study of the River Welland catchment area has revealed that a one-in-a-100-year flood would cost the city £3.6 million in damages, with 109 homes and seven businesses in the north of Peterborough likely to be underwater.

And with climate change raising the likelihood of flooding in the future, potential economic damages could rise by £1.4 million, threatening a further 47 homes and 13 businesses.

Left unchecked, an Environment Agency report warns, flood depths in Peterborough could increase "causing a threat to life".

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A River Welland catchment flood management plan (CFMP) – examining the impact of potential flooding in Bourne, Eye, Greatford, Market Deeping, Peakirk, Peterborough, Stamford and Spalding – reveals that a one-in-a-100-year flood would lead to "extensive community disruption" and that "flooding was likely to occur rapidly with limited warning".

Further downstream, existing flood embankments could be breached, causing "unpredictable, rapid and potentially deep flooding".

In the worst-case scenario, it is estimated that a one-in-a-1,000-year event would land Peterborough with a crippling bill of £26 million.

To prevent the worst impact of flooding, the CFMP advises widening culverts on River Welland tributaries in Peterborough, including Marholm Brook, Paston Brook and Werrington Brook, along with ensuring that Peterborough City Council does not permit "inappropriate development on the flood plain".

Today, strategic and development planning officer at the Environment Agency Lynsey Thompson said: "In Peterborough, we are managing the flood risk appropriately, but we expect that flood risk to increase in the future because of climate change and housing developments.

"Action we could take is increasing the size of culverts to cope with increased flow."

The CFMP study comes in the wake of Planning Minister Caroline Flint calling on local authorities to manage flood risk in their areas.

She said: "We saw very clearly last summer the devastating potential of severe storms. We can't prevent heavy downpours or abandon those already living in flood plains but wherever possible we need to make sure councils are avoiding or reducing the risk of flooding in their communities."

New guidance gives councils five clear steps, including prioritising non-flood areas for housing development, for maximising the planning rules to better manage flood risks.

Peterborough City Council's cabinet member for environment Cllr Wayne Fitzgerald said council officers regularly contact Environment Agency officials over planning applications in flood risk areas.

He said: "We haven't got a crystal ball to look into the future, but we take flooding extremely seriously and have a duty of care to people who live in the city."

Related story: Homes need to be 'flood-resistant'
Building regulations must be changed to make new houses more flood-resistant, the author of the Government-commissioned report into last summer's devastating flooding has said.

External links:
Environment Agency: Flood news and information.

River Welland CFMP - Environment Agency.