On Thursday 1st October 2026, I attended the National Emergency Briefing at Hampton Hub, hosted by Hampton Climate Action.
The screening was well attended, and Twickenham MP Munira Wilson was among those present.
The event featured a short film with Chris Packham and other contributors summarising the key evidence presented at the Expert Briefings in November 2025. Those briefings brought together leading experts to set out the scale of the climate and nature crisis, and the need for urgent action.
One of the most relevant contributions for the property sector came from Professor Hayley Fowler, Professor of Climate Change Impacts at Newcastle University and one of the UK’s leading experts on extreme rainfall and flooding.
Her message is especially important for property owners, developers, landlords and investors: more frequent and intense rainfall increases the risk of flooding, water ingress, drainage failure, and damage to buildings and infrastructure. That means higher repair costs, greater insurance pressure, stronger planning and design requirements, and rising risks to long-term asset values.
In practical terms, the property sector needs to think carefully about resilience, including site selection, flood mitigation, surface water management, sustainable drainage, and the future suitability of existing stock.
After the film, we joined a group discussion. My main takeaway was the strong appetite for action: people wanted to support both individual and collective measures, alongside decisive government-led change.
We also heard from a representative of Community Energy London, who spoke about work with Richmond and other councils to accelerate local climate action.
If you have not yet seen the film, local screenings are free and well worth attending. It is an opportunity to hear the evidence directly and reflect on what it means for our communities, our homes, and the property sector as a whole.
https://www.nebriefing.org/expert-briefings/weather-extremes
Mike Lightfoot
Photo by Chris Gallagher on Unsplash
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