For Developers and Planners
Flood Risk for Planning
Since 2000 the UK has sought to reduce the trauma, impacts and damages associated with flooding by steering new development away from rivers and floodplains to areas of lower risk. The planning system is a key component of this strategy. In England this is normally achieved through the submission of a Flood Risk Assessment (FRA) and in Wales a Flood Consequence Assessment (FCA) with a planning application.
Edenvale Young can assist developers, planners and individual home owners in evaluating the risks of flooding to a site or a property and meeting regulatory requirements. We provide a professional flood risk consultancy and have extensive experience producing FRAs and FCAs to the NPPF and TAN15 standards respectively.
Risk-Based Approach
How we Assess Flood Risk
We focus on providing flood risk and flood consequence assessments to developers requirements, without expensive extras that might not be needed to complete the planning process. We:
- Provide a detail assessment of your requirements
- Explain what is needed and what might be needed and produce a plan to produce what you need, when you need it, if you need it
- Can handle complex sites using our experienced hydrological and hydraulic modelling team
- Produce reports that are fully in compliance with NPPF and TAN15 guidelines
- Can design flood mitigation, drainage and resilience strategies to help with difficult sites
For sites which do not or are not thought to flood this is normally a very simple document, but for sites that are partially at risk of flooding or where development is planned very close to an existing watercourse, hydrological and hydraulic modelling may be necessary to prove that the development and third party land is not affected by flooding. We work to the Guidance to the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) which gives rules and principles designed to demonstrate that a scheme or development:
What is a Flood Risk Assessment?
An FRA (England) or FCA (Wales) is a formal report which accompanies a planning application for a development. The aim of an FRA or FCA is to establish the risks from all sources of flooding. This can include rivers, the sea, surface water, sewers, groundwater and reservoirs. The overall objective of an FRA / FCA is to ensure that a development:
- is safe for its lifetime
- will not flood in extreme events taking into account the impact of climate change
- will not have a detrimental impact on third parties.
Frequently a flood risk or flood consequence assessment will not require hydrological or hydraulic modelling and can be completed simply through reference to published data, but if there is a significant risk of flooding to the site, or the proposed development interacts too closely with existing watercourses, modelling may be required to support the conclusions of the FRA. Edenvale Young are experts in undertaking hydrological analyses, building and running hydraulic models.
Flood Risk Assessments
Do I need an FRA or FCA?
Developers, planners or householders looking to take a site through the planning process in England, Wales or Scotland will required an FRA or FCA which will need to be submitted with the planning application if your site is within Flood Zones 2 or 3 (England) or Flood Zones C1 and C2 (Wales). You can find out whether you home or site is within the flood zones which trigger the requirement for an FRA or FCA by following the links below:
It is also important to note that you may be required to submit a Sequential Test and formal drainage strategy with you planning application. We are happy to discuss these additional requirements with you. In this context it should be noted that Lead Local Flood Authorities and the Environment Agency will object to development proposals which fail to demonstrate the above.
Working Together
What Our Clients Say
If you need a flood risk assessment or flood consequence assessment for your development or scheme, contact us to discuss your requirements.
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