Flood Risk Assessment

With the increasing pressure on land to supply new housing, the rise in intensity of climate change and following a number of major UK flooding events, risks from flooding to developments have become a common issue. This has resulted in the production of specific guidelines that outline how flood risk should be considered at all stages of the planning and development process in order to help reduce future damage to property and loss of life.

This legislation resulted in the statutory consultation of the Environment Agency over planning applications where flooding was identified to be a potential issue. This is not just in coastal locations, but also in areas of low lying land in the vicinity of streams and rivers, and land where groundwater levels are close to the ground surface and flooding occurs after heavy rainfall.

If you require a flood risk assessment for your property or to support a development project contact our team today.

Assessing the risk and impact of flooding on a site.

In circumstances where you want to be better informed about flood risk and damage mitigation or where the Environment Agency considers that there is a risk of flooding with respect to new developments, a flood risk assessment would be required. Alternatively a flood risk assessment may be required for insurance or due diligence purposes.

A flood risk assessment takes into account the risk and impact of flooding at a site as well as how the development may affect flooding in the local area. It also provides recommendations as to how the risk of flooding at a site could be mitigated. Each assessment undertaken is specific to each individual site and can range from a basic assessment through to detailed flood risk modelling.