FLOOD-HIT premises in Saltaire and Baildon were at the centre of a fact-finding visit today by shadow environment minister Barry Gardiner on the four month anniversary of the Boxing Day deluge.

Mr Gardiner saw the scale of flooding at Riverside Court in Saltaire which contains 97 flats beside the River Aire and where parts of the building were left under four feet of water.

But Residents' Association spokesman Paul Lazenby said no apartments at the mill conversion had been flooded because the Victorians had wisely built above the risk level.

However many cars were wrecked and the lifts have not worked since.

"Some families are still having to walk up and down four flights of stairs several times a day. I think we're building too many houses on flood plains," said water quality analyst Mr Lazenby.

Mr Gardiner, who is Labour's, shadow minister for energy and climate change agreed.

"It's not rocket science and the Dutch, for example, build such houses on stilts so they are lifted above possible flood levels," he said.

"There will be some 800,000 new properties in the UK at risk of serious flooding by 2020 - things are only going to get worse, according to the Government Committee on Climate Change.

"Responsibility for flood planning should go back to local authorities - but they must be properly resourced to do so.

"Insurers should do more than just pay out like-for-like. At the moment there is no obligation for them to build in resilience during repairs to reduce the risk of future flooding."

Mr Gardiner also called at the Nuffield Health and Fitness Centre in Otley Road, which was left under three feet of water on Boxing Day.

General manager Stephen Whitley said there was still lots to do, despite more than £1 million spent on repairs and refurbishments at the gym.

He said: "Everything on the lower level was ruined, the reception, bar changing rooms have all had to be replaced.

"After the flood there was two inches of silt in the bottom of the swimming pool which had to be removed."

Mr Whitley said the disaster happened at the worst time of year for them - just as people are preparing to get fit in the New Year.

"But we have tried to make a positive from a negative - it's given us an opportunity to improve facilities, remodel our business and reach out to more people.

"I don't know what could be done to protect us from flooding - build a great big wall around us?

"More needs to be spent on river maintenance and flood defences."

Mr Gardiner said the impact on businesses which suffered flooding was often underplayed.

"People rightly have huge sympathy for the person with the flooded sitting room, but ongoing business losses are something that don't get properly factored into the total cost of these disasters," he said.

"And all the forecasts are for more extreme weather, more frequently. We need to do more on flood defences."