By Graham Brogden MBE, Chair of IPFRA
As IPFRA approaches its first anniversary, we reflect on what has been an exceptionally busy and productive first year.
When we launched the International Property Flood Resilience Association in Telford, our ambition was clear: to provide a unified voice for the Property Flood Resilience (PFR) sector and to support the mainstreaming of high-quality, standards-led practice. The pace of progress since then has been genuinely encouraging.
Membership continues to grow, with new Associate Members joining our founder members from across the supply chain. Engagement is increasing from organisations that recognise the vital role PFR must play in the wider resilience landscape.
We have secured ministerial recognition, both at Flood & Coast and in a subsequent one-to-one meeting with Minister Emma Hardy MP. We now sit on the PFR Roundtable Steering Group and have been assured a seat on the emerging PFR Leadership Group, important signals that the sector’s collective voice is being heard at the right levels.
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IPFRA has contributed to Professor Peter Bonfield’s independent review of property flood resilience and attended the launch of FloodReady in London. We have also strengthened collaboration through practical engagement, including a reception in Lancaster during Flood Action Week ahead of discussions on the RAIN Project (FCRIP) PFR Blueprint for local authorities, and a well-attended “Flooding: Road to Resilience” seminar for the Insurance Institute of York/Hull, bringing together professionals from insurance, environmental risk management and PFR.
We are pleased to count Aviva, the ABI and Flood Re among our prominent supporters. We have also become an Official Sponsor of Flood Mary’s PFR Directory, Making Your Home Flood Ready, and a sponsor of Flood Re’s new Floodmobile, initiatives that raise consumer awareness and improve understanding of property-level resilience.
For an organisation in its first year, this represents meaningful progress. Ultimately, however, IPFRA’s strength lies in its members; those designing, surveying, installing, advising and advocating for better outcomes on the ground.
As we look ahead to Flood & Coast 2026 in Liverpool, our focus is not simply on marking an anniversary, but on building further momentum.
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The full version of this article is in Issue 11 of Flood Industry magazine (March/April 2026). You can view it here.