BRE flood resilient repair project

This article is based on a --BRE Buzz post by Peter White, Marketing and Communications Manager at the Building Research Establishment (BRE). Further flooding shows importance of BRE Trust Flood Resilient Repair Project 7 December 2015.

Sadly, it has not taken long for flooding to return to the UK.

Following the winter of 2013/14, which saw some of the worst floods in living memory, the winter of 2015/16 looks set to break the records. It has certainly not started well, with the wettest day ever recorded in the UK as 341mm fell in 24 hours between Friday 4 and Saturday 5 December 2015 in Honister in Cumbria causing numerous rivers to flood and testing or overtopping newly-installed flood defences. Thousands of homes were flooded in Cumbria and the Scottish Borders that weekend, and more than 50,000 properties, including two key hospitals, were left without mains power.

The BRE Trust was set up in 2002 and is the largest UK charity dedicated to research and education in the built environment, commissioning research and publishing project findings to provide authoritative guidance to the construction industry. The Trust is investing in essential flood research through the Resilience of the Built Environment programme. The flood resilient repair project aims to enable greater uptake of flood resilient repair approaches by homeowners, assisted by appropriate standards and contractors with the skills to deliver cost-effective measures.

One of the key outputs of this work involves opening a demonstration project at the BRE Innovation Park in Watford. This will include the creation of a flood resilient home within the existing Victorian Terrace building. It will feature measures and approaches – such as flood-resisting doors and barriers, and the use of materials during repair work that are less susceptible to damage – that could be replicated throughout the UK, improving resilience to the effects of future flooding.

BRE is actively seeking partners to support this research project. Already organisations including major insurers and construction companies are involved. Those wishing to express interest can contact Dr Stephen Garvin, Director at the BRE Centre for Resilience (resilience@bre.co.uk).

The mission of the BRE Centre for Resilience is to provide a place for the sector to research, learn, develop new standards and create the next generation of resilient materials, products, designs and innovations that will ensure the robustness and longevity of our built infrastructure.

Its work includes:

• Conducting research into new mitigation and adaption methods.
• Creating new standards for design, planning and products.
• Testing, trialing, demonstrating and certifying innovations.
• Developing new training programmes for the sector.
• Communicating and disseminating knowledge.

For more information see: Flood resilient house.

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