A handbill posted to railings by the Water of Leith in flood-prone Canonmills invites members of the public to take part in a focus group to discuss 'flood impacts, flood-related insurance problems and property-level flood protection'.
Participants are being offered £15 shopping vouchers for their involvement in the session, which will take place at Stockbridge Library on 26 February, from 2pm–3pm.
Spurtle dug a little deeper, and found that behind the survey is Seth Owusu, a postgraduate student at Heriot Watt University's School of the Built Environment.
Owusu's PhD investigates the likely increased impact of floods on residential properties in the UK due to global warming.
On Hertiot Watt's website, the project description reads: 'The flooding of residential properties comes with various impacts, ranging from significant financial costs to less tangible social impacts, which are often lasting and of much concern to flood victims. At the same time, the high costs associated with traditional large-scale flood protection schemes means such measures are not feasible for all scenarios. In addition, there is much uncertainty concerning the provision of flood insurance cover for properties at significant flood risk, as the ABI Statement of Principles on Flood Insurance is due to expire in 2013. As a result of these issues, there is a growing need to reduce public exposure to flood risk through the uptake of household level flood protection products.'
Owusu's research seeks to understand how the general public feel about issues of flooding and flood protection, with this helping to inform government and 'stakeholder' policy towards the funding and promotion of household level protection measures.
Locals hereabouts will naturally have an interest in making their views known, but they should not get their hopes up. Whilst the handbill states that the findings 'are likely to help inform government policy' there is absolutely no explicit description of how such a process might happen or when.
To book a place on the focus group, contact Seth Owusu at:
Tel. 451 4434
Mob. 07788 120 173
Email: so59@hw.ac.uk
Web: http:sbe.hw/ac/uk/research/postgraduate/seth-owusu.htm