The Effluent Hits the Affluent

The floods have hit Datchet and neighbouring Eton. In the words of Deborah Orr (Guardian 15'th Feb) the effluent has hit the affluent. The prime minister, who used to talk about hard choices, has announced that money is no object. When the wealthy scream for suckle at the teat of central funding, money gushes with no questions asked.

Property owners have converted low lying areas prone to flooding into productive farmland or attractive homes, greatly increasing the value of this land. In order to keep these properties dry, and preserve their value, they rely on provision and maintenance of communal drains and flood defences in perpetuity. They should pay for this themselves and there should be no subsidy from the general taxpayer.

Shared drainage and flood protection should be financed through a local property tax, which would both empower and require those who benefit to take responsibility for their own assets. It is property owners who reap finanical benefits from uplift in property value due to drainage and flood protection. Only where the protection needs to be improved due to run-off from developments further upstream is some central funding justified. The tax should be proportional to property value and should not be capped at some upper limit. Property owners must stop running to the nanny state for help.