Local Requirements

Find guidance for completing a Flood Risk Assessment for Planning here.

Flood Risk Assessment

Required for:

  • All developments of 1 hectare or over in flood zone 1, and any development in Flood zone 2 and 3 (including householders, minor development and change of use) need a flood risk assessment (FRA). This also applies if the main development is in zone 1, but the access lies in zone 3.

  • Development of less than 1 hectare in Flood Zone 1, including a change of use in development type to a more vulnerable class (e.g. from commercial to residential), where they could be affected by sources of flooding other than rivers and the sea (e.g. surface water);
  • Development in an area within Flood Zone 1 which has been designated a Critical Drainage Area by the Environment Agency.
  • Development within 20 metres of the top of the bank of a main river
  • All Major Development (regardless of whether in a Flood Zone or not)

Where necessary the sequential test should be applied, and only once this has been passed will the exceptions test be considered.

Flood Zones

Find out which flood zone your development is in by visiting the Government's flood map.

Guidance

Use the Environment Agency Flood Map to identify if a site is in a flood zone. The FRA should be produced using the Environment Agency advice on FRA and the Flood Risk Assessment advice in the Planning Practice Guidance.

The FRA must be carried out by a suitably qualified person. It should include evidence regarding the availability of any alternative sites (across the JLP area) at a lower risk of flooding. This will help to determine whether the flood risk Sequential Test can be satisfied.

The FRA must also provide sufficient information to demonstrate the proposal will be safe of its lifetime, not increase flood risks elsewhere and (where possible) reduce flood risks overall. Within each Flood Zone, new development should be directed to sites at the lowest probability of flooding from all sources.

The FRA should address the issues of flooding to both property and people. The FRA should identify and assess the risks of all forms of flooding to and from the development and demonstrate how these flood risks will be managed, taking climate change into account.

The FRA should identify opportunities to reduce the probability and consequences of flooding. It should also address the requirement for safe access to and from the development in areas at risk of flooding. It should include the design of surface water management systems including Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDs).

The Environment Agency's Flood Risk Standing Advice can be viewed on their website.

If the proposal is located within Flood Zones 2 or 3 (and is not covered by Flood Risk Standing Advice) pre-application advice can be obtained from the Environment Agency via their cost-recovered planning advice service: Email SDPC.

You can find out more information from DEFRA and the Environment Agency's guidance on Flood Risk Assessment for Planning Applications (Gov.uk). 

Links to useful guidance

For Environment Agency cost-recovered pre-application advice for zones 2 and 3, email SPDC.