Impacts of flooding on SMEs and their relevance to chartered surveyors : final report of the developing flood expert knowledge in chartered surveyors - DEFENCES project

Wedawatta, HG; Ingirige, Bingunath; Proverbs, D

Abstract

The UK has endured a number of major flood events in
recent years, and the UK Environment Agency (2009a)
identified that about 5.2million properties in England,
amounting to one in six, are at risk of flooding. The impacts of flooding include direct and indirect impacts and can be particularly devastating for small and medium-sized
enterprises (SMEs) who are generally more vulnerable to
such events than larger business organisations. Recent
flood events have established how costly flooding can be
to the SME sector (Pitt, 2008, ABI, 2010), which has given
greater impetus to the need to improve the resilience of
at-risk SMEs. A lack of professional advice on flood
protection and adaptation measures represents a potential
barrier to the uptake of such interventions by SMEs.

A recent Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS)
survey, as quoted in Defra (2008) notes that, although a
majority of chartered surveyors would like to work in this
area of practice (flood risk assessment and adaptation),
they are conscious of gaps in their competency,
knowledge and understanding. The research project
sought to contextualise this broader issue and investigate
how chartered surveyors can bridge the gap in providing
professional flood advice to SMEs. Further, a shift in the
UK government policy on flood risk management is
evident, where at-risk communities are urged to adapt to
flooding. This places greater emphasis on property-level
flood adaptation, providing further impetus for Chartered
Surveyors to be involved. Findings of the research will be
of interest to the RICS, the RICS Flood steering Group,
practicing surveyors generally, SMEs, business support
and policy making organisations.

Citation

Wedawatta, H., Ingirige, B., & Proverbs, D. (2012). Impacts of flooding on SMEs and their relevance to chartered surveyors : final report of the developing flood expert knowledge in chartered surveyors - DEFENCES project

• Report Type: Project Report
• Publication Date: Sep 1, 2012
• Deposit Date: Sep 26, 2012
• Publisher URL: http://www.rics.org/Global/Impacts_Flooding_SMEs_050912_dwl_aj.pdf
• Additional Information: Projects : Developing Flood Expert Knowledge in Chartered Surveyors - DEFENCES