U216 PROJECT QUESTIONNAIRE

To what extent are we concerned about contemporary flooding risks? How should we respond to the challenges we face?

This questionnaire forms part of the course work for students taking the Open University module, U216 Environment: change, contest and response. It should take between 15 and 20 minutes to complete. The questionnaire concerns attitudes towards increased flooding risk. In recent years we have become increasingly aware that many low lying and coastal communities are vulnerable to flooding. There are two major sources of concern with regard to flooding:

threat to coastal locations due to inundation by the sea threat to inland locations, particularly flash flooding of river valleys due to heavy rain and storms.

This questionnaire asks you about what you feel our priorities should be when confronted by coastal retreat and increased floodplain inundation. Data from this questionnaire is anonymous and confidential, and names will not be used in any report or write-up of the data. In accordance with the Data Protection Act, data will be destroyed once it is no longer necessary for the purposes of the research.

Many thanks for taking the time and trouble to participate in this questionnaire survey.

2012 The Open University

(1) Do you consider where you live to be at risk of flooding? [ ] Yes [ ] No

(2) Are you concerned about the threat of flooding? [ ] Yes [ ] No [ ] A little

(3) What do you think are the main reasons for current concern with the threat of flooding? (Please tick the TWO that you think are most important.) [ ] Pressure for homes and development [ ] Natural climatic changes [ ] Media hype [ ] Human-induced climate change [ ] Other (please specify)

The following questions ask you about your attitudes to flooding in coastal locations and in inland river valley floodplains.

(4) Which of the following best summarizes your attitude towards the management of coastal retreat? (Please tick the ONE that you think is most appropriate.) [ ] The coast must be preserved at all costs [ ] Coastal retreat is inevitable; coastal communities will have to adjust their lives accordingly [ ] We need to protect the coast when homes and livelihoods are at stake [ ] Coastal protection is massively expensive: difficult choices will have to be made [ ] None of the above

(5) Which parts of the coast should we protect? (Please rank what you think are the most important TWO in order of priority.) (i) Major towns and large villages only (ii) All homes and villages (iii) Farmland (iv) Areas of special wildlife habitat (v) Areas of economic and strategic importance such as ports and power stations (vi) Areas of high scenic value

2012 The Open University

(6) To what extent do you agree/disagree with the following statements? (i) Local communities should be responsible for the protection of their own sections of coast and pay for it themselves. [ ] Strongly agree [ ] Agree [ ] Neutral [ ] Disagree [ ] Strongly disagree (ii) Coastal retreat is a matter for national strategy and importance; central government must take responsibility for managing our response. [ ] Strongly agree [ ] Agree [ ] Neutral [ ] Disagree [ ] Strongly disagree

(7) To what extent do you agree/disagree with the following statements? (i) Floodplains are natures way of dealing with excess water; working with nature is the best way to protect against flooding. [ ] Strongly agree [ ] Agree [ ] Neutral [ ] Disagree [ ] Strongly disagree (ii) Given government targets to build many more houses and the pressure for more building land, it is inevitable that river valley floodplains will have to be built on. [ ] Strongly agree [ ] Agree [ ] Neutral [ ] Disagree [ ] Strongly disagree (iii) The construction of new homes in areas vulnerable to flooding is the fault of greedy developers and incompetent planners. [ ] Strongly agree [ ] Agree [ ] Neutral [ ] Disagree [ ] Strongly disagree (iv) We know the risks; rivers should be engineered so that they do not flood homes and properties. [ ] Strongly agree [ ] Agree [ ] Neutral [ ] Disagree [ ] Strongly disagree (v) Governments and local authorities must plan strategically and do more to protect vulnerable floodplains from the threat of flooding. [ ] Strongly agree [ ] Agree [ ] Neutral [ ] Disagree [ ] Strongly disagree (vi) Buyer beware! Anyone buying a house in a vulnerable location knows what to expect. [ ] Strongly agree [ ] Agree [ ] Neutral [ ] Disagree [ ] Strongly disagree

(8) What do you think river valley floodplains are best used for? (Please rank what you think are the most important TWO in order of priority.) (i) Farming (ii) Leisure and recreational uses (iii) Housing (iv) Industrial and commercial uses (v) Natural water storage (vi) Roads and transport

2012 The Open University

(9) Should householders living in threatened areas be compensated? If so, by whom? (Please tick the ONE that you think is most appropriate.) (i) House builder (ii) Insurance companies (iii) Local government (iv) National government (v) Householders living in threatened areas should not be compensated

(10) Please place yourself in one of the following categories. Gender [ ] Male [ ] Female

Age [ ] 1825 [ ] 2640 [ ] 4155 [ ] 56+

(11) Please give us the first part of your postcode, e.g. OX3, NG16, MK7.

Many thanks for taking the time and trouble to participate in this questionnaire survey.

2012 The Open University