Norwich to become a spongy city after global flooding events

City Hall will be combatting the growing threat of flash flooding by transforming the city into a 'sponge'.

Spongy cities are designed to absorb rainwater by using green spaces to help lower the amount of extra rainwater hitting sewers.

Norwich is growing prone to flooding (Image: Newsquest) The initiative will make the city greener by increasing tree cover, expanding green spaces and creating new "living roofs" and rain gardens.

This closely follows the recent flash flooding in Valencia in Spain in which 224 people died and there are hopes that this initiative could make Norwich more resilient to additional flooding caused by climate change.

The initiative will make Norwich greener (Image: Newsquest) Amanda Fox, Green Councillor and an advocate for the Spongy City motion said: "Short-term thinking by successive governments has left us vulnerable to flooding.

"Aviva reports that 100,000 homes have been built on floodplains in the last decade, with many now becoming uninsurable.

Cllr Amanda Fox (Image: Denise Bradley) "By committing the council to more sustainable flood prevention, this Spongy City resolution marks a shift toward long-term thinking—creating a safer, more sustainable city that can adapt to the unpredictable climate challenges ahead."

READ MORE: Plans emerge to turn empty city office block into home

Councillor Gary Champion highlights that the council, businesses and city locals need to work together for this to work.

He added: "Spongy city principles have been shown to work in various Chinese and Latin American cities with success and have restored the city's capacity to absorb, infiltrate, store, purify, drain and manage rainwater.

Cllr Gary Champion (Image: Submitted) "Replicating natural hydrological cycles is essential given that we are faced with the climate emergency.”

The move to transform Norwich into a Spongy City also helps stop the growing trend of urban areas becoming increasingly grey and concrete, which makes areas more vulnerable to flooding.

The council's new initiative seeks to reverse this trend and create a more sustainable balance between development and green infrastructure.