A Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government table also places South Holland third for the percentage of homes built in high risk areas between 2015-18 - just under 80 per cent of the total.

The high risk classification itself is being challenged by MP Sir John Hayes and district council planning chairman Roger Gambba-Jones, who point to the work of the internal drainage boards, and the long history of land drainage in this part of Lincolnshire which has kept the area safe for generations.

Additionally, Coun Gambba-Jones says the EA is a consultee on planning applications and can ask for flood protection measures to be incorporated in the design of each property.

Gallery1

1 / 2

Sir John Hayes MP

But Hugh Ellis, policy director at the Town and Country Planning, says we should now be looking to establish regional agencies to manage the flood risk from the Humber to the Thames.

He says South Holland faces a triple threat from sea, river and surface water flooding - and we should be planning now for the predicted 1.14m rise in sea level by 2100, which will fall in the lifetime of many people alive today.

Mr Ellis said: "I think the Government needs to completely rethink its policy on housing and climate change, particularly in areas that are most vulnerable and you are in a particularly vulnerable area.

"I think the (housing) target has to be reviewed.

"Certainly what you need is new standards in terms of what gets built and where it gets built.

"When the EA last summer did a consultation it actually said we need to think about moving people away from vulnerable areas.

"If there is anywhere in England where you need to have a rethink about what kind of houses are built - and where you build houses - South Holland is on the frontline."

He says the Dutch spend a lot more than we do on flood defences.

Mr Ellis believes the Government should do two main things: set up a Department of Climate Change and "draw together all of the powers" to manage East coast flood defence from the Humber to the Thames.

"If you are going to defend the East coast comprehensively, that's billions and billions of pounds worth of investment," he said. "It's almost a wartime kind of problem that we are facing."

He would like to see a flood resilience development agency set up to cover the Humber to the Wash and another for the Wash to the Thames.

He said local plans should look 100 years ahead, not 30 years ahead as is the case with the South East Lincolnshire Local Plan.

He said: "There is no point in building houses that have to be defended or abandoned."

Mr Ellis described South Holland as the "canary" in the flood risk scenario, a reference to days when coalminers took the birds down the pits as an early warning sign of deadly gases.

Philip Wilbourn, chief executive of environmental surveyors Wilbourn and Co, said: "Unfortunately all local authorities are given targets by the Government to create numbers of new houses and to build new homes in their area. They have got very little choice about it otherwise they get penalised financially."

Mr Wilbourn says we must have the conversation about where and how we build, and look at incorporating flood resilience measures such as ensuring that living space is at first floor level and using permeable road surfacing instead of traditional materials.

* South Holland’s flood risk is about more than low-lying land – and should take account of centuries of land drainage and flood prevention measures, political leaders agree.

MP Sir John Hayes said: “Let’s be clear that our protection against flooding in this area is exemplary due to the work of the internal drainage boards.

“There’s been no major floods in this area in my liftetime.”

The South Holland and the Deepings MP said land drainage was begun by the Romans and continued most notably in the 17th Century through to the present day.

“People who don’t understand the history of the area may think we are about to flood,” he said. “Of course we should maintain our sea defences and there is no room for complacency, but we have been told for years and years by insurance companies and others that we are at high risk because they look at our topography and assume that this is an area that floods and is likely to flood. Land drainage is not understood by some of the people that draw up the maps.”

The MP says most of the recent flooding in the UK has been river flooding, not sea flooding.

He said: “I would have no development on flood plains or washes.

“I would minimise greenfield development and use development as an opportunity to regenerate local economies and townscapes.”

The MP says he would also like to see incentives introduced for the development of brownfield sites – such as the old Johnson Hospital and the sorting office in Spalding.

“These sites are more expensive to develop than greenfield sites,” he said.

The MP says he doesn’t believe the Government’s position is “we are serious about developing housing but we don’t care where it goes”, however he does feel its insistence on areas like ours having a five-year housing land supply has “completely skewed development”.

Sir John explained: “Most people don’t want the places in which they live to grow to the point where they become unrecognisable, and that’s not easily reconciled with excessive housing targets.”

He says that’s an issue he will raise with the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government Robert Jenrick.

Sir John will also speak to the Government and South Holland District Council about issues relating to flood risk and housing development.

Lincolnshire County Council is the lead authority on flood defence in this part of the world.

Coun Colin Davie, executive councillor for economy and place at the county council, said: “All organisations recognise that parts of Lincolnshire by their geographical nature are at more risk of flooding than other parts of the country, and this is at the forefront of many planning considerations.

“There is undoubtedly a need to build new housing to meet the needs of our residents and help our county grow and thrive.

“Therefore councils and flood and drainage organisations work together to make sure proposed new developments have appropriate measures in place to minimise flooding and its impacts.”

A spokesman for the Environment Agency said: “Local planning authorities are responsible and accountable for approving proposals for new development in their local areas.

“The Environment Agency is a statutory planning consultee and advises planners and developers on how to enable climate resilient development, and identify opportunities to protect and enhance the environment.

“The Environment Agency does not make the final decision on local planning approvals.

“The National Planning Policy Framework makes clear that inappropriate development in areas at risk of flooding should be avoided by directing development away from areas at highest risk.

“In some places it will be challenging to avoid these areas due to limited land outside the flood plain, or because of other sustainable development objectives.

“Where avoidance isn’t possible, Government planning policy requires that development is designed to be safe for its lifetime without increasing flood risk elsewhere.”

Coun Roger Gambba-Jones says “taking the flood plain terminology” alone is not the right approach because it doesn’t look at all of the measures being taken on flood prevention, including the work of the internal drainage boards, who invest millions of pounds a year to keep our feet dry.

He said a Strategic Flood Risk Assessment is part of the local plan for this area.

“That’s updated regularly and we work closely with the Environment Agency who do their sophisticated modelling,” he said.

Coun Gambba-Jones said the Environment Agency is always consulted on planning applications and its views are taken into account.

“Where it’s a major application, they have significant input and developers are required to take on board all of their comments,” he said.

A handful of properties have been given consent with conditions requiring the lowest habitable level in the property to be at the height of the first floor in a traditional property.

“Boston has got a few cases,” said Coun Gambba-Jones. “We have probably required about half-a-dozen properties across South Holland to be like that. It’s unusual for us to do that – most of the time we steer away from the high risk areas.”

He believes Boston and South Holland were the first local authorities in the country to have Strategic Flood Risk Assessments.

Coun Gambba-Jones believes national media reports about high flood risk here have not taken into account the many flood prevention measures in place.

He said: “They can be, for want of a better description, somewhat alarmist because they don’t understand the context locally, but I can assure you that flood risk is very much at the forefront of our thinking. Everything we do is about assessing the flood risk to sites.”

Also from www.spaldingtoday.co.uk

Flooding: Global warming - or is it an excuse?

Donington and Spalding firefighters helping Yorkshire flood victims

Donington Fire Station team earn top award for excellent service