Flood Risk Assessment

We are flood risk consultants providing flood risk assessment services to help understand and clearly communicate the potential impact of flood risk and climate change to development sites.

A flood risk assessment (FRA)* is a report providing an evidence-based understanding of the likelihood of flooding at a site from all possible sources. It considers an allowance for the effects of climate change throughout the lifetime of a proposed development to ensure sustainability. Our Flood Risk Consultants determine risk receptors, identify the potential for mitigation options and quantify the residual flood risk, all the while ensuring no detriment to existing developments nearby.

Flood risk planning policy varies across the devolved nations of the UK. Our flood risk team offers the specialist knowledge and experience to produce a report in line with relevant guidance suitable for submission to the EA/SEPA/NRW in support of a planning application.

Our Team of Flood Risk Consultants offer:

FRAs for due diligence purposes.
Flood mitigation design to reduce insurance premiums.
Flood mechanism investigation and specification of resilience measures.
EA/SEPA/NRW flood map challenge.
Input to contingency plans in the event of a flood.

*The Welsh equivalent of an FRA is known as a “flood consequences assessment” (FCA).

Flood Risk Assessment Consultants

Do I need a flood risk assessment?

England:

You need to do a flood risk assessment for most developments within one of the flood zones.

This includes developments:

in flood zone 2 or 3 including minor development and change of use
more than 1 hectare (ha) 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

(Contains public sector information published by the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs and licensed under the Open Government Licence).

How do you assess flood risk?

Your FRA should include:

your site address
a description of your development
an assessment of the flood risk from all sources of flooding for your development, plus an allowance for climate change
the estimated flood level for your development, taking into account the impacts of climate change over its lifetime
details of the finished floor levels
details of your flood resistance and resilience plans
any supporting plans and drawings
any other information the relevant standing advice tells you to include

The estimated flood level is the depth of flooding anticipated on your development site in a:

river flood with a 1 in 100 annual probability plus an allowance for climate change
tidal flood with a 1 in 200 annual probability plus an allowance for climate change

If flood defences are present, the estimated flood level should account for the residual flood risk if they breached or overtopped. You may be able to get the estimated flood level from the Environment Agency or your LPA. If not, you’ll need a flood risk specialist to calculate this for you.

(Contains public sector information published by the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs and licensed under the Open Government Licence).

How do I know if I need an FRA?

You will require a flood risk assessment (FRA) for most developments within a flood zones. The links below can be used to determine what zone you are in: