Wales and England Should Take Different Paths to Tackle Long-term Flooding
As climate change intensifies, the UK faces an escalating threat from flooding which is among the most costly and disruptive climate-related hazards.
While England and Wales share rivers, coastlines, and weather systems, their strategies for confronting future flood risks are diverging. Two recently published documents reveal a profound contrast in philosophy, policy, and planning: the UK Government's announcement of record flood investment in England, and the National Infrastructure Commission for Wales (NICW) report Building Resilience to Flooding in Wales by 2050.
Both nations aim to protect people, homes, and infrastructure from rising flood risk. NICW's approach — not yet agreed by Welsh Government — would mean fundamentally different understandings of what 'resilience' means, and how best to achieve it.
England: engineered protection
The UK Government's recent announcement outlines a historic £5.2 billion investment over six years to protect 2,000 flood-prone areas in England. This includes nearly 2,000 new flood defence schemes with a stated goal of reducing the risk for hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses.
This approach emphasises engineered solutions — sea walls, flood barriers, pumps, and channels — designed to 'keep water out.' It is rooted in the belief that the main route to resilience is through capital infrastructure, with projects tailored to specific flood plains and prioritised through cost-benefit analysis.
Crucially the funding package also embeds economic protection and recovery as central goals. The Environment Agency is focusing on 'protecting communities' and delivering 'value for money,' explicitly aligning flood defence with business continuity and insurance risk mitigation.
This approach is inherently defensive, building barriers to hold back water, supported by centralised funding and technical expertise. While sustainable drainage and natural solutions are mentioned, they remain supplemental to a model that continues to prioritise large-scale physical interventions.
NICW's vision: adaptive resilience grounded in nature and community
By contrast, our report redefines what resilience means. Rather than seeking primarily to defend against floods, it advocates 'living with water'. This is a philosophy that blends adaptation, planning, community engagement, and nature-based solutions.
The Commission calls for a radical shift: not just protecting assets but reshaping settlements, policies, and expectations. It sets out a long-term vision for flood resilience by 2050 grounded in four key pillars: Clear policy direction — aligning all levels of governance around a shared goal of long-term resilience. Adaptive planning — moving beyond short-term fixes to flexible, place-based responses that evolve with risk. Investing in natural and hybrid solutions — prioritising wetland restoration, natural floodplains, and sponge cities. Empowering local decision-making — engaging communities in flood planning and recovery, and enabling nature-based, locally tailored responses.
Unlike the capital-intensive model used in England, our recommendations prioritise investment in 'preparedness' and 'adaptability' over permanence. The report also emphasises the importance of upstream land management, equitable funding mechanisms, and longer time horizons that consider the cumulative effects of small-scale actions. Capital spend on flood infrastructure still has its place in Wales, but we would like to see a far higher recognition of community, education and cultural awareness through increased revenue spend.
Why the divergence?
The contrasting approaches stem from differences in political structure, cultural context, and institutional philosophy.
Wales' strong rural identity and communitarian heritage, tends to see land and water through a more integrated, lived-in lens. This could potentially support a resilience model rooted in nature and local adaptation. We should, through the Well-being of Future Generations Act, align infrastructure with long-term societal and ecological outcomes.
We believe that our proposals offer greater long-term adaptability and ecological health than a traditional grey infrastructure model.
A shared future with water
Flooding is no longer a 'one-off emergency'. It's an ongoing condition of climate change. The question is not if we will flood, but how we will live with water. NICW's recommendations chart a path of collaboration, adaptability and community empowerment. Where we see England leading — for example on adopting a catchment approach — we should adopt similar measures rapidly. But the point of devolution was to test doing things differently. The traditional approach to building defences cannot protect our homes, communities and businesses in the long term.
That's why we believe Wales must forge its own path — one rooted in the landscapes, values, and strengths of our nation. Building long-term flood resilience isn't just a technical challenge; it's a social and cultural one. Our unique context offers an opportunity to lead with a vision that is holistic, future-focused, and grounded in lived experience.
This does not mean turning away from infrastructure or innovation, but integrating them into a broader, more inclusive system where nature, people, and place all play vital roles. Preparing for 2050 means thinking beyond short-term defence, and toward a future where communities understand risk, feel supported, and have a say in how they adapt.
Flooding will shape our future. Our response will shape our legacy. Wales can choose to be not just protected, but prepared, connected, and resilient in the deepest sense of the word.
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