Why are flood risk assessments required?

Behind pandemic flu, flooding is the second largest risk on the Government’s national risk register with 1 in 6 households at risk of flooding in England.  Development pressures, urban creep and climate change further expose households to flood risk most commonly from our rivers, seas, surface water runoff, groundwater and ageing sewerage systems.  As such, planning policy requires proposed developments in risk locations or of certain size to demonstrate that they will not be at significant flood risk for the lifetime of the development, are safe for users, and do not increase flood risk downstream or to adjacent sites.  

In particular, a flood risk assessment is required for a development proposal which is:

• in flood zone 2 or 3 including minor development and change of use;
• more than 1 hectare in flood zone 1;
• less than 1 ha in flood zone 1, including a change of use in development type to a more vulnerable class (for example from commercial to residential), where they could be affected by sources of flooding other than rivers and the sea (for example surface water drains, reservoirs)
• in an area within flood zone 1 which has critical drainage problems as notified by the Environment Agency.

The team at WtFR are specialist flood risk consultants with many years of experience in representing both the Environment Agency and Local Authorities in planning matters, and in preparing detailed flood risk assessments.  To understand what is required for your flood risk assessment and to obtain a free quote, speak to a member of the team on 0207 1836372 or request a call back here.