The UK is not prepared to cope with more frequent torrential rain or summer droughts as part of a looming water crisis caused by climate change<\/a>, decades of underinvestment and a continued reliance on Victorian infrastructure, he said. <\/p>\n Writing in Country Life magazine, the Conservative peer, who as John Gummer<\/a> created the Environment Agency, said the cost of the impending catastrophe \u201cmay well be measured in lives\u201d.<\/p>\n He called for a number of measures to prevent \u201cserious flooding<\/a>\u201d, including a ban on front gardens being paved over for cars, which stops water from draining properly. <\/p>\n As millions of people face a hosepipe ban as the UK swelters under the<\/a> third heatwave this summer, Lord Deben also criticised the fact that no new reservoir has been built in England for more than 30 years<\/a>. <\/p>\n And he condemned planned cuts to the Canal & River Trust (CRT), which he said incoming prime minister Andy Burham\u2019s government should step in to halt. <\/p>\n The CRT \u201cneeds urgent investment\u201d to repair the ageing infrastructure, he wrote. \u201cDams, aqueducts and canals need upgrading if their failure is not to threaten whole communities and if they are to play their necessary role in flood prevention. Yet the government is planning to reduce CRT\u2019s budget.<\/p>\n \u201cThe cost of that cut may well be measured in lives, as well as in economic loss. It must not be allowed.\u201d <\/p>\n He warned that drier summers, wetter winters, more severe storms and torrential rain are \u201ctoday\u2019s reality and we need a land-use policy to reflect it. \u201cSerious flooding is inevitable unless previous drainage methods are reversed, slowing the water flow by allowing more to be held in the land. <\/p>\n \u201cFarmers should be enabled to plant trees and hedges appropriately and encouraged to dig and restore farm ponds. Farm reservoirs should become the norm and be part of agricultural permitted development, so they don\u2019t require planning permission.\u201d <\/p>\n Earlier this year, researchers from Newcastle University found that winters in the UK are becoming \u201csignificantly wetter\u201d and dramatically increasing flood risks. <\/a><\/p>\n They warned that winter rainfall is increasing<\/a> by around 7 per cent for every degree of global or regional warming \u2013 a rate the authors say is happening far faster than most climate<\/a> models predict, and describe as \u201creally concerning\u201d.<\/p>\n![\"Tewkesbury](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/2261083035...jpeg\")
Tewkesbury Abbey surrounded by floodwater on February 14, 2026 (AFP\/Getty)<\/p>\n![\"Lord](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Portrait-(1).jpeg\")
Lord Deben was the environment secretary from 1993 to 1997 (UK Parliament)<\/p>\n