Houses can be built on floodplains despite failing safety test, says high court

Decision to allow development of 190 new homes in north Somerset sparks campaign for change in the law

Houses can be built on floodplains even if they fail a crucial safety test, according to a high court judgment that will be of “immense interest” to developers across England and Wales.

The ruling clears the way for a highly controversial development of 190 new homes on north Somerset’s floodplains, despite the site being in “flood zone 3a”, the highest level of flood risk before land is considered a functional floodplain.

Ministers and experts are so disturbed by the decision that it was agreed at a flood resilience conference on Wednesday to campaign for a change in the law that would stop the ruling setting a national precedent.

As a result, Tessa Munt, the chair of the flooding and flooded communities all-party parliamentary group (APPG), will now meet Matthew Pennycook, the housing and planning minister, to ask him to change the national planning policy framework (NPPF).