Sink or swim

Amsterdam, Bruges and Saint Petersburg have all at one time been crowned the ’Venice of the North’. In 90 years time, if the engineers behind a new report have their way, Hull could join this list of celebrated cultural landmarks.

While such a drastic transformation of a Yorkshire port is likely to raise some eyebrows, the report, Facing up to Rising Sea Levels: Retreat, Defend, Attack? from the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE), argues that radical changes are needed to protect the UK’s coastline against the increasing threat of rising sea levels, sinking landmasses and more frequent rainstorms.

According to the Environment Agency, more than five million people in England live or work in 2.4 million properties that are at risk from flooding. Around 490,000 of these are under significant threat and this could rise to 840,000 by 2035 if future investment is kept at current levels.