Celebrity gardeners blamed for making floods worse by encouraging decking and patios "We need TV gardeners to tell people not to put down patios and decking and have a lawn instead," he said. Lord Krebs, head of adaptation at the Committee on Climate Change, said extreme weather like the recent floods will become more frequent in future because of climate change. But he said the Government is failing to put enough money into flood defence to protect homes. He said more than 600,000 properties will be at significant risk of flooding by 2035 without action, four times more than if there was increased investment in flood defences and more careful planning of new housing in the flood plain. Already more than 200,000 properties have been built in the flood plain between 2001 and 2011, of which 40,000 are at significant risk of flooding because they are not protected by flood defences. Lord Krebs said the Government need to spend another £1bn to protect homes over the next five years alone and even more in future - unless they can persuade the private sector or hard-pressed local authorities to provide the cash. He also said planning regulations to ensure development on flood plains are well protected need to be more strictly implemented. "Flooding, as we have seen recently, can have a devastating impact on people's lives and livelihoods," he said. How we adapt to these risks will be critically important to our future resilience: whether it's deciding not to pave over our gardens; or building in less exposed areas. The report comes as the Government launched a range of new measures to ensure water companies can cope in droughts and floods. The Water Bill removes barriers so water companies can build new pipes to transport water from wet areas to drier parts of the country. It will also allow businesses and public sector bodies to switch water companies for the first time, encouraging more competition and pushing down prices as large organisations shop around for the cheapest supply. Richard Benyon, the Water Minister claimed the measure could save the economy around £2 billion. He also said it would encourage water companies to reduce demand and mend leaks in order to provide a more affordable service for all customers. However consumer groups remain concerned that households will ultimately pay for any infrastructure or price cuts for business. Environmentalists are angry that water metering has not been introduced to reduce demand and regulation improved fast enough to protect wildlife in rivers. Lord Smith, head of the Environment Agency, said the UK needs to prepare for both floods and droughts. The weather extremes which we've seen this year - with widespread floods almost immediately following a long term drought - have brought the importance of resilience into sharp focus. Climate change science tells us that these are the sort of weather patterns we are going to have to get used to, so taking action today to prepare and adapt our homes, businesses, and infrastructure is vital.