Flood Risk Assessment
Establishes which flood zone a site sits in, from every source of flooding, and shows how the scheme responds to that risk over its lifetime.
When
When your council will require it
- Any site in Flood Zone 2 or Flood Zone 3
- Any site of one hectare or more, in any flood zone
- Sites with a recorded history of surface water or groundwater flooding
Contents
What is in it
- 01Every source of flooding considered: rivers, tidal, surface water, groundwater, sewers and reservoirs
- 02The flood zone classification for the site
- 03The Sequential Test, and the Exception Test where it applies
- 04Climate change allowances applied over the development's lifetime
- 05Finished floor levels, and safe access and egress
- 06Surface water drainage and betterment
- 07Residual risk and a flood response
Authority
What makes it necessary
National Planning Policy Framework paragraphs 167 to 169. Flood zone and climate allowance figures are taken live from the Environment Agency. Rainfall allowances and river-flow allowances use different band names over different epochs, and a figure quoted under the wrong one is rejected rather than corrected.
Price
What it costs
This document is not priced on its own. It is part of the fixed fee for the application it supports, and a case producing three documents costs the same as a case producing one. On a minor application that fee is £1,995, with your council’s statutory fee passed on separately at cost.
A shorter research draft of this document is also available for credits, for your own use. It is clearly marked on every page as not for submission, and it carries nobody’s signature.
Questions
Questions
How do I know which flood zone I am in?
Draw your site on the map. Flood Zone 2 and Flood Zone 3 are two of the free layers, straight from the Environment Agency, and the appraisal names the zone for you.
Is this the same as a drainage strategy?
No. A Flood Risk Assessment addresses flood risk to and from the development. A detailed drainage design is separate engineering work, and where your council asks for one the checklist will say so.
Start here
Does your site need a flood risk assessment?
Draw a boundary and the appraisal tells you which documents your route and your constraints require, before you commit to anything.