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Flood Risk and Drainage for Data Centre Planning Applications

A data centre flood risk assessment has to clear a higher bar than the industrial-shed template most schemes were still using a year ago. Since 17 August 2026 the National Planning Policy Framework has listed data centres as essential infrastructure.…
Posted on 28th August, 2026
, in NPPF 
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Flood Depth Data for Rivers and Sea: A Practitioner’s Guide

On 27th August 2026 the Environment Agency published flood depth data for rivers and the sea. Four datasets appeared on the Defra Data Services Platform covering present-day and climate change scenarios, defended and undefended, with no announcement, no press notice,…
Posted on 27th August, 2026
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Equestrian flood risk and drainage: the planning rules for stables, field shelters and ménages

Planning permission for stables is needed far more often than owners expect, and the flood risk and drainage requirements that come with it are the part almost nobody writes about. Horses are kept on low-lying grazing land: the cheap, wet,…
Posted on 27th August, 2026
, in NPPF 
, in SuDS 
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Flood Risk Assessments for Electrical Substations

A substation flood risk assessment establishes whether a proposed electrical substation will be reached by flooding during its working life, and sets the levels and the protection the equipment needs to survive it. It can be required for planning. It…
Posted on 27th August, 2026
, in NPPF 
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Basement and Cellar Conversions in a Flood Zone: The 2026 Planning Rules

A basement conversion flood risk assessment has to answer a question no other householder application faces: what happens to the people in the lowest room when the water arrives. Below-ground space is the only part of a home where the…
Posted on 26th August, 2026
, in NPPF 
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Can You Knock Down and Rebuild a House in a Flood Zone?

Yes, and it happens all the time. The obstacle when you rebuild a house in a flood zone is not the water; it is a reclassification. Planning does not treat a demolition and rebuild as a larger extension. It treats…
Posted on 25th August, 2026
, in NPPF 
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First flush explained: why the first few millimetres of rain matter most in SuDS

Every storm carries its dirtiest water at the start. In the first minutes of rain, run-off sluices weeks of built-up grime (oil, tyre and brake dust, sediment, metals and nutrients) off roofs, roads and car parks and into the nearest…
Posted on 21st August, 2026
, in NPPF 
, in SuDS 
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The New National SuDS Strategy Templates: What They Are and How to Use Them

In August 2026 the Environment Agency published two national SuDS strategy templates: one for major development and one for non-major development. Each is a free Word form that an applicant fills in and submits with a planning application, so that…
Posted on 20th August, 2026
, in SuDS 
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Flood Risk and Drainage for Gypsy and Traveller Sites: The Planning Requirements

A Gypsy and Traveller site flood risk assessment is needed for almost every pitch scheme on land that carries any flood risk, and these applications are judged against a tougher standard than ordinary housing. The reason is the caravan. Under…
Posted on 19th August, 2026
, in NPPF 
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Section 104 and Section 102 Agreements: A Developer’s Guide to Sewer Adoption

A Section 104 agreement is the contract that gets a development's new sewers taken over and maintained by the water company; a Section 102 agreement does the same job for sewers that are already in the ground. Both sit in…
Posted on 18th August, 2026
, in SuDS 
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What is a Section 106 sewer connection? The right to connect, explained

A section 106 sewer connection is the statutory right, under section 106 of the Water Industry Act 1991, for the owner or occupier of a property to connect its drains to the public sewer. It is a right, not a…
Posted on 18th August, 2026
, in SuDS 
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The Surface Water Sequential Test Exemption: Evidencing It Under Policy F5

The surface water sequential test exemption is the biggest change Policy F5 makes to flood risk decision-making in the August 2026 NPPF. It lets a site at risk of surface water flooding only avoid the sequential test — but only…
Posted on 18th August, 2026
, in NPPF 
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NPPF August 2026 Changes: Flood Risk and Drainage Implications for Planning

The NPPF 2026 changes are now live. Government published the new National Planning Policy Framework on 17 August 2026, and it applies to planning decisions in England from the day of publication. For flood risk and drainage this is no…
Posted on 17th August, 2026
, in NPPF 
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Campsite and glamping flood risk and drainage: the planning requirements in England

A campsite flood risk assessment is required for any camping, glamping or holiday caravan proposal in Flood Zone 2 or 3, and for sites in Flood Zone 1 that are a hectare or more, sit in a critical drainage area,…
Posted on 17th August, 2026
, in NPPF 
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Five floods in two years: what a medieval disaster teaches us about back-to-back flooding

Between the autumn of 1341 and the end of 1343, much of Europe flooded again and again. A study published in Nature in August 2026 counted sixteen major flood events in that short window. Four of them were so large…
Posted on 13th August, 2026
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Why do water mains burst in hot weather? The hidden burst season explained

Ask most people when a water main bursts and they picture winter: a hard frost, a deep freeze, the metal splitting as the water inside turns to ice. That is half the story. The other half is playing out right…
Posted on 13th August, 2026
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Can I Build a House Extension in a Flood Zone?

Yes, and most of them get built. Wanting a house extension in a flood zone is not the problem; the sticking point is the evidence the council asks for before it will grant permission. Sitting in Flood Zone 2 or…
Posted on 13th August, 2026
, in NPPF 
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Skinningrove Flood Alleviation Scheme: £13m Defences Begin in 2026

Construction has started on the Skinningrove flood alleviation scheme, a £13 million Environment Agency project, delivered with Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council, that will protect more than 100 homes in the coastal village by 2028. At its heart is a…
Posted on 10th August, 2026
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“Granny Annexe” Flood Risk Assessment: The Planning Rules

A granny annexe is self-contained accommodation built for a relative, usually an elderly parent, either added to a house or converted from a garage, stable or outbuilding. “Granny annexe” is the everyday name; in planning language it is ancillary or…
Posted on 7th August, 2026
, in NPPF 
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Do you need a flood risk assessment for a change of use to an HMO?

Usually, yes. A flood risk assessment is required for a change of use to an HMO wherever the site sits in Flood Zone 2 or 3, and in a growing number of Flood Zone 1 cases too. An HMO is…
Posted on 7th August, 2026
, in NPPF 
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Flood risk and drainage in the planning process: where they fit at every stage

If you are applying for planning permission for the first time, the part most likely to catch you out is not the design or the neighbours. It is flood risk and drainage in the planning process. Flooding and surface water…
Posted on 6th August, 2026
, in NPPF 
, in SuDS 
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What is a consultee in a planning application? Statutory consultees explained

A consultee is a body or person the local planning authority asks for a view on your planning application before it makes a decision. Some are named in law and must be consulted on particular kinds of development. These are…
Posted on 5th August, 2026
, in NPPF 
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Flood Risk Assessment and Drainage Strategy: Do You Need Both?

Most applications that need one of these documents need the other too. A flood risk assessment and a drainage strategy answer different questions: the first asks whether the site floods and whether your development makes flooding worse somewhere else, the…
Posted on 4th August, 2026
, in NPPF 
, in SuDS 
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Do you need a flood risk assessment for a barn conversion (Class Q)?

Yes — if the barn sits in a flood risk area, a flood risk assessment for a barn conversion is almost always required, even though the work is permitted development. Class Q lets you turn an agricultural building into a…
Posted on 3rd August, 2026
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Flood Risk and Drainage for EV Charging Infrastructure: What Developers Need to Know

There were 119,080 public chargers on the UK network on 1 April 2026, and 27,372 of them were rated 50kW or above. Almost all of it went in on land nobody picked for its flood characteristics: retail car parks, filling-station…
Posted on 30th July, 2026
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Can a Planning Condition Make You Fix a Flood Problem You Didn’t Cause?

Almost every developer who has taken a drainage condition through to discharge has met some version of this. The site floods. The gardens next door flood. The culvert downstream has been surcharging since long before anyone applied for anything. And…
Posted on 29th July, 2026
, in NPPF 
, in PPG 
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Shoreline Management Plans Explained: Hold the Line, Managed Realignment and No Active Intervention

England's coast runs to roughly 6,000km, and nearly all of it is covered by a shoreline management plan: the document that decides whether a stretch of shoreline gets defended, left alone, or allowed to move. A shoreline management plan (SMP)…
Posted on 27th July, 2026
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Erosion of trust: the government’s own words versus its coastal erosion grant

There is no coastal erosion compensation in the UK. If the sea takes your home, there is no insurance payout and no statutory compensation for the land or the building. Until 15 July 2026 there was a demolition grant that…
Posted on 24th July, 2026
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Flood Risk Assessment for a Care Home, Children’s Home or Supported Living

A flood risk assessment for a care home, children's home or supported living scheme is needed wherever the site sits in Flood Zone 2 or 3, and increasingly in Flood Zone 1 as well. The classification these uses take is…
Posted on 23rd July, 2026
, in NPPF 
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Sea Level Rise and Planning: Why 2100 Is No Longer the End of the Story

For most of UK practice, sea level rise and planning meet at a single tidy horizon: the end of this century. Flood risk assessments run their allowances out to the 2120s, defence schemes are appraised on similar timescales, and almost…
Posted on 22nd July, 2026
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What Will the Burnham Government Mean for Planning, Housing and Flood Risk?

Andy Burnham became Prime Minister on 20 July 2026, and the Burnham government's planning agenda is already taking shape. The cabinet is appointed, the first speech has been given, and the big in-flight reforms (the new NPPF, the national scheme…
Posted on 21st July, 2026
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Local government reorganisation 2026: what England’s council shake-up means for flood risk and planning

England is part-way through the biggest reshaping of its councils in fifty years. Local government reorganisation replaces the two-tier system of county and district councils with single unitary authorities, and on 16 July 2026 the government confirmed the shift for…
Posted on 17th July, 2026
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Building Regulations Part H: Foul Water Explained

Building Regulations Part H is the part of the building rules that governs foul water drainage: how the used water from a building's toilets, sinks, baths and appliances is carried away safely. If you are building, extending or converting anything…
Posted on 15th July, 2026
, in SuDS 
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Discharge of Planning Conditions: Process, Timescales and Costs (2026)

Discharge of planning conditions is the formal step of asking your local planning authority to confirm, in writing, that a condition attached to your planning permission has been satisfied. In planning terms it is an “application for approval of details…
Posted on 14th July, 2026
, in NPPF 
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Why Does Rain Stop Play at Wimbledon? The Science of Grass Court Drainage

Every Wimbledon has the same ritual. A few spots of rain, the umpire calls a halt, and within seconds the ground staff are sprinting the covers across the grass. It looks like an overreaction on a warm July afternoon. It…
Posted on 8th July, 2026
, in SuDS 
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Do building control and planning talk to each other? Drainage, SuDS and the gap between them

A building control officer tells you the simplest thing to do is run the surface water into the sewer. Your planning condition says infiltration first, greenfield runoff rates, attenuation for a one-in-100-year storm. Both cannot be right, and only one…
Posted on 3rd July, 2026
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Retrospective Planning Permission: The 2026 Guide

Retrospective planning permission is planning permission applied for after building work has already started or finished. It is made under Section 73A of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990. It is then judged in exactly the same way as…
Posted on 2nd July, 2026
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What Is a SuDS Proforma and When Is It Required?

A SuDS proforma — also called a drainage proforma or sustainable drainage proforma — is a standardised summary form that goes in with a sustainable drainage strategy on a planning application. It sets out the key drainage information in a…
Posted on 26th June, 2026
, in SuDS 
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Planning Application Invalidated? The Flood Risk and Drainage Documents You’re Missing

A planning application invalidated for flood risk or drainage almost always comes down to one thing: a document the local planning authority treats as mandatory is missing from the submission. Most often that is a flood risk assessment (FRA), a…
Posted on 22nd June, 2026
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Climate Whiplash: What New UK River Research Means for Flood and Drought Risk

Climate whiplash, the abrupt swing between flood and drought as the climate warms, is set to become more common across the UK, according to major new research led by the University of East Anglia's Tyndall Centre. The study modelled almost…
Posted on 19th June, 2026
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Sequential test, exception test and the planning balance: lessons from the Yatton judgment

When a flood risk scheme fails the sequential test, does the decision end there? The High Court has now answered plainly. In *North Somerset District Council v Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government* [2026] EWHC 1430 (Admin),…
Posted on 18th June, 2026
, in NPPF 
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Why the Somerset Levels flood — and what £50m will (and won’t) fix

The Somerset Levels flood because they are a low-lying former wetland, much of which sits at or below the level of the rivers and tides meant to drain it. In a wet winter, water arrives faster than the catchment can…
Posted on 17th June, 2026
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The Four Pillars of SuDS Explained: Quantity, Quality, Amenity & Biodiversity

The four pillars of SuDS are water quantity, water quality, amenity and biodiversity — the four objectives a well-designed sustainable drainage system is meant to deliver at the same time. They come from the CIRIA SuDS Manual (C753) and now…
Posted on 16th June, 2026
, in SuDS 
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Permeable Paving for Planning Applications: When It Works and When It Doesn’t

Permeable paving is one of the most common SuDS features used in drainage strategies for planning applications, and on the right site it is one of the most useful. It lets rainfall pass through the surface into a stone sub-base…
Posted on 15th June, 2026
, in LLFA 
, in SuDS 
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Leaky Dams and Flood Risk: What They Do, Where They Work, and What They Can’t Fix

Anyone who has watched the latest series of Clarkson's Farm will have seen Jeremy Clarkson wading into a stream at Diddly Squat to build what he gleefully describes, after a bit of reading on the government's website, as "large, leaky,…
Posted on 13th June, 2026
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Human-driven sea level rise is increasing coastal flooding: what it means for UK flood risk

Two studies published on the same day this week reached the same uncomfortable conclusion: the rise in coastal flooding we are already seeing is being driven, in large part, by human-caused sea level rise. Not a future risk. A present…
Posted on 10th June, 2026
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Residual Flood Risk Explained: How It’s Assessed and Managed

Residual flood risk is the risk left over after defences, drainage and mitigation have done what they can. No scheme removes risk entirely. A defended site still floods if a barrier is overtopped, if a defence breaches, or if a…
Posted on 9th June, 2026
, in NPPF 
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Why the Insurance Industry Is Warning Against the NPPF Flood Risk Changes

In early March 2026, as the government’s consultation on its revised National Planning Policy Framework drew to a close, seventeen of the most significant names in UK flood risk signed a single joint letter to ministers. Insurers, mortgage lenders, brokers…
Posted on 8th June, 2026
, in NPPF 
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Can You Build a House on Stilts in a Flood Zone? Floodable Voids Explained

Yes, you can build a house on stilts in a flood zone in England, and a floodable void is the engineering that lets you do it. A floodable void is an open space beneath a building that floodwater flows into,…
Posted on 4th June, 2026
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Water Table and Groundwater Flood Maps in the UK: How to Check a Site

There is no single official water table map for the UK, and no national groundwater flood map either. Rivers and the sea have both. Groundwater has neither. What exists instead is a scatter of separate datasets, each built for a…
Posted on 2nd June, 2026
, in BGS 
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Surface Water Flooding and Planning: A Complete Guide for Developers

Surface water is the most widespread source of flood risk in England, and the August 2026 National Planning Policy Framework has made how you handle it decisive at the planning stage. Getting surface water flooding and planning right now turns…
Posted on 1st June, 2026
, in SuDS 
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EA Flood Map for Planning: May 2026 Update — Surface Water Climate Change Data

On 28th May 2026 the Environment Agency added surface water climate change extents and banded depth layers to the Flood Map for Planning. The Check Your Long Term Flood Risk (CYLTFR) surface water data should no longer be used for…
Posted on 28th May, 2026
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Do SuDS count towards biodiversity net gain? What actually scores

Yes, sustainable drainage systems can count towards biodiversity net gain, but only the parts of a SuDS scheme that create real, lasting habitat, and only for what that habitat is genuinely worth. A planted basin, a wet pond or a…
Posted on 27th May, 2026
, in NPPF 
, in SuDS 
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Groundwater Flood Risk and Planning Applications: What Developers Need to Submit

Key takeaways If your site needs a Flood Risk Assessment, that FRA must assess groundwater — it is not optional under the NPPF and Planning Practice Guidance. The national flood maps do not show groundwater. Screen with the BGS Susceptibility…
Posted on 22nd May, 2026
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Can AI Write a Flood Risk Assessment?

Ask any chatbot to write a flood risk assessment and it will hand you a confident, well-formatted document in seconds. That is the easy part. It is also the misleading part, because a flood risk assessment is not really a…
Posted on 20th May, 2026
, in AI 
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Property Flood Resilience and Planning: The 2025 FloodReady Action Plan, the CIRIA Code and Build Back Better

Property flood resilience (PFR) has moved from the margins of flood policy towards the centre of it. The 2025 FloodReady action plan, the maturing CIRIA Code of Practice, and insurance-side schemes like Build Back Better have made the idea of…
Posted on 14th May, 2026
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Padel Court Drainage and Flood Risk: What the Planning System Actually Asks For

Padel court drainage is the part of a padel planning application that almost nobody scopes, because the court is built to drain and everyone assumes that settles the question. It does not. The LTA's own construction guidance specifies a porous…
Posted on 12th May, 2026
, in NPPF 
, in SuDS 
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The Flood Knowledge Gap Between Communities and Institutions

In 1724, a local historian described one Berkshire village as "a low and watery place" where "water is a dominant theme … with disastrous floods, both within and beyond living memory." More than two centuries later, that village still requires…
Posted on 11th May, 2026
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Do you need a flood risk assessment to convert a house into flats?

Usually, yes. A flood risk assessment when converting a house into flats is required wherever the site sits in Flood Zone 2 or 3, and in a growing number of Flood Zone 1 cases too. Flats are still homes, so…
Posted on 7th May, 2026
, in NPPF 
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Nature-Based Solutions and Flood Risk: What the 2026 NPPF Now Requires

Nature-based solutions have moved from advocacy into planning policy. The National Planning Policy Framework published on 17 August 2026 defines them, asks development plans to make as much use of natural flood management as possible, and asks development proposals themselves…
Posted on 5th May, 2026
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Surface Water Flood Risk in England’s Towns and Cities: What the Data Now Shows

Surface water flood risk has become the defining flood problem in England's towns and cities. New national data shows that most homes now judged to be at high flood risk are urban, and the cause is rarely a river bursting…
Posted on 29th April, 2026
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Are Flood Maps Accurate? Why a Property Can Flood When the Map Says Low Risk (and Vice Versa)

Are flood maps accurate? At the scale they are built for, meaning a region, a catchment or a whole postcode, broadly yes. At the scale that matters when you are buying a house or designing a single building, often not.…
Posted on 17th April, 2026
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Groundwater Monitoring for Planning: Requirements, Timing and Delays

Groundwater monitoring for planning is the process of measuring how the water table beneath a site rises and falls over the seasons, usually to prove that an infiltration-based drainage scheme will actually work. It is most often needed where Sustainable…
Posted on 14th April, 2026
, in SuDS 
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Source Control in UK Drainage: SuDS at Plot Level

Source control means managing rainfall as close as possible to where it lands, before it has a chance to run off into the wider drainage network. It sits at the very top of the SuDS hierarchy, and in principle it…
Posted on 9th April, 2026
, in SuDS 
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The barn or the field? Flood risk for holiday lets, cabins and farm diversification

A holiday let flood risk assessment is required for any permanent holiday unit in Flood Zone 2 or 3, and for units in Flood Zone 1 on a site of a hectare or more, in a critical drainage area, or…
Posted on 6th April, 2026
, in NPPF 
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What Drainage Information Is Needed for Planning Permission?

For years it was standard practice to secure surface water drainage by planning condition and work up the detailed design after permission was granted. That route still exists. What has changed is how much a planning application has to demonstrate…
Posted on 2nd April, 2026
, in SuDS 
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Planning Appeals 2026: Why Flood Risk and Drainage Must Be Right First Time

A planning appeal on flood risk grounds is now, in most cases, decided on the evidence that was already sitting in the application file. Since 1 April 2026 most appeals in England run through a streamlined written representations procedure, and…
Posted on 27th March, 2026
, in PINS 
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How flood defence works can raise groundwater, and who pays for the damage

Flood defences are built to keep water out. Sometimes they change where the water goes instead. The relationship between flood defence works and groundwater has now been tested twice in the Upper Tribunal, and both decisions went against the Environment…
Posted on 26th March, 2026
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LLFA Objection to a Planning Application: Why Drainage Strategies Are Rejected and How to Resolve It

An LLFA objection to a planning application is one of the most common hurdles a development can hit, and one of the most resolvable. It rarely means the scheme is unacceptable in principle. It means the Lead Local Flood Authority,…
Posted on 23rd March, 2026
, in LLFA 
, in SuDS 
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Environment Agency Objection to Your Planning Application (Flood Risk): How to Resolve It

An Environment Agency objection to a planning application on flood risk grounds is unsettling, but it is rarely the end of a scheme. In most cases it means the flood risk evidence in front of the local planning authority is…
Posted on 23rd March, 2026
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The Land Use Framework and flood risk: what it actually changes

The Land Use Framework is the government's first national statement of how England's land should be shared between housing, farming, energy and nature. Defra published it on 18 March 2026, and it is built on flood figures that ought to…
Posted on 20th March, 2026
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Environment Agency Product 4 Flood Data: How to Request It

Environment Agency Product 4 flood data is the detailed dataset most Flood Risk Assessments in England are built on, and it is requested free through the Flood Map for Planning service with a statutory 20-working-day deadline attached. This guide covers…
Posted on 20th March, 2026
, in GIS 
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£1.4bn Flood Defence Funding 2026/27 Explained

The UK government has announced £1.4 billion of flood defence funding for 2026 / 27, supporting more than 600 schemes across England, as set out in the official £1.4bn flood investment announcement. The funding is intended to reduce flood risk…
Posted on 18th March, 2026
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How to Do a Flood Risk Assessment for Planning

A flood risk assessment (FRA) is a technical report that identifies how a site could flood, now and over the lifetime of a development, and shows a planning authority that the proposal will be safe and will not make flooding…
Posted on 17th March, 2026
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Flood Risk Assessment Cost: What Drives the Price and Why Bespoke Beats Fixed

Ask ten flood risk consultants what a flood risk assessment costs and the honest ones all say the same thing: it depends on the site. Anyone who quotes a firm figure before they have seen yours is guessing. The cost…
Posted on 16th March, 2026
, in Cost 
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Can I Do My Own Flood Risk Assessment for Planning?

If your planning application needs flood risk information, it is fair to ask whether you can do your own flood risk assessment rather than pay a consultant. You can, but only for a genuinely minor, low-risk proposal. What looks like…
Posted on 11th March, 2026
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Why a Conveyancing Flood Report Won’t Pass Planning (And What Will)

A conveyancing flood report will not pass planning, because it answers a different question from the one a planning authority is asking. A conveyancing flood report screens an existing property for a buyer or a lender. A planning flood risk…
Posted on 10th March, 2026
, in NPPF 
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Flood Risk Vulnerability Classification: The 2026 NPPF Guide (Annex F, Table 2)

Flood risk vulnerability classification is the system in the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) that sorts every type of development by how badly flooding would affect it: by consequence, not probability. It places each use in one of five categories,…
Posted on 2nd March, 2026
, in NPPF 
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Acqua alta: how Venice lives with flooding, and what the UK takes from it

Acqua alta is the tidal flooding that covers parts of Venice several dozen times a year, and the city stays open through almost all of it. The reason is not the barrier at the lagoon mouth. It is that the…
Posted on 23rd February, 2026
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New Homes in Flood Risk Areas: Is 11% Really Evidence of Planning Failure?

On its own, the one-in-nine figure does not prove that planning has failed. When Aviva reported that 11% of new homes in flood risk areas were built where flooding is a medium or high risk, the headline landed as a…
Posted on 23rd February, 2026
, in NPPF 
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Types of Flooding Explained: Sources of Flood Risk

Flooding can arise from several different sources, and understanding the types of flooding that may affect a site is an essential part of assessing flood risk for property, land and development proposals. While many people associate flooding primarily with rivers…
Posted on 19th February, 2026
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What Is Infrastructure Flooding? Causes, Risks and Planning Implications

Flooding can also occur when water escapes from man-made infrastructure such as canals, water mains, culverts or other engineered systems. This type of flooding is often referred to as infrastructure flooding or artificial source flooding. Infrastructure flooding occurs when water…
Posted on 18th February, 2026
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What Is Reservoir Flooding? Causes, Risks and Planning Implications

Flooding can occur from the failure or overtopping of large raised water bodies such as reservoirs. This type of flooding is known as reservoir flooding. Reservoir flooding occurs when water stored behind a reservoir dam or embankment is suddenly released…
Posted on 18th February, 2026
, in Dam 
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What Is Sewer Flooding? Causes, Risks and Planning Implications

Flooding can also occur when sewer systems are unable to carry or contain the volume of water entering them. This type of flooding is known as sewer flooding. Sewer flooding occurs when wastewater or stormwater escapes from the sewer network…
Posted on 18th February, 2026
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What Is Groundwater Flooding? Causes, Risks and Planning Implications

Groundwater flooding happens when water rises up from beneath the ground rather than spilling in from a river or running across the surface. After long, wet periods the water table — the level below which the ground is saturated —…
Posted on 18th February, 2026
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What Is Tidal (Sea) Flooding? Causes, Risks and Planning Implications

Flooding in coastal areas is often caused by the sea rather than rivers or rainfall. This type of flooding is known as tidal flooding, sometimes referred to as coastal flooding or sea flooding. Tidal flooding occurs when sea water moves…
Posted on 18th February, 2026
, in Sea 
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Still in a Flood Zone After New Flood Defences? What Actually Changes

A new flood wall goes up, an embankment is raised, a storage basin is finished after years of consultation. Then you open the map and nothing has moved. If you are still in a flood zone after flood defences have…
Posted on 16th February, 2026
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Why Is My House in a Flood Zone if It Has Never Flooded?

"Why is my house in a flood zone? We have lived here for years and it has never flooded." Being never flooded but in a flood zone is not a contradiction, and it is not a mistake on the map.…
Posted on 16th February, 2026
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Approved Despite Flood Risk? What the 2026 NPPF Actually Requires

"Approved despite flood risk fears" is a stock headline in England's local press, and it usually means the same thing: residents describe flooded roads or overwhelmed drains, councillors record their worry, and permission is granted anyway. The reading most people…
Posted on 16th February, 2026
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Does the Jubilee River Increase Downstream Flood Risk?

The Jubilee River is an 11.6 kilometre flood relief channel on the River Thames, opened in 2002 to lower flood levels in Maidenhead, Windsor and Eton. Because it moves a large volume of water from one part of the river…
Posted on 12th February, 2026
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River Thames Scheme delays raise questions over flood defence delivery

Recent political intervention and growing local frustration over the River Thames Scheme have brought long-running questions about flood defence delivery sharply back into focus. What began as a technically ambitious response to well-understood flood risk is increasingly becoming a case…
Posted on 9th February, 2026
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Fowlea Brook flood scheme: what £12.6m has changed in Stoke-on-Trent

The Fowlea Brook flood scheme is a £12.6 million Environment Agency project, completed in February 2026, that has rebuilt the defences along a constrained urban watercourse running through the centre of Stoke-on-Trent. It reduces flood risk to 333 homes and…
Posted on 6th February, 2026
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Managed retreat from flood risk at Clydach Terrace

Sixteen flood-prone homes on Clydach Terrace in Ynysybwl, Rhondda Cynon Taf, are set to be purchased and demolished by the local authority, bringing an end to years of repeated flooding, fear and uncertainty for the people who live there. Publicly,…
Posted on 3rd February, 2026
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Flood risk data delay slows planning and housing delivery

Yesterday, on 29th January 2026, updated surface water flood risk data was due to be published for use in development planning. Late in the day, it was confirmed that the release had been delayed, with no revised publication date and…
Posted on 30th January, 2026
, in NPPF 
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The CIRIA SuDS Manual (C753): What It Is and How to Use It in 2026

The CIRIA SuDS Manual (C753) is the UK's principal design guide for sustainable drainage systems: 968 pages covering how SuDS should be planned, designed, built, operated and maintained. CIRIA published it in November 2015 to replace the original 2007 manual,…
Posted on 26th January, 2026
, in SuDS 
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Climate Change Allowances for Flood Risk Assessments: Which One Do You Use?

Climate change allowances are the uplift figures the Environment Agency expects you to build into a flood risk assessment so a development stays safe for its whole lifetime rather than only on the day it opens. There are four of…
Posted on 21st January, 2026
, in NPPF 
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What the Gladman Judgment Means for the Sequential Test

Flood risk, planning appeals and the High Court The High Court’s judgment in Gladman Developments Ltd v Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government and Lancaster City Council (15 January 2026) is an important decision on flood risk,…
Posted on 16th January, 2026
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Guildford Flood Alleviation Scheme: flood risk, defences and what happens next

The Guildford Flood Alleviation Scheme is a long-term project by the Environment Agency, Guildford Borough Council and Surrey County Council to reduce flood risk to Guildford town centre from the River Wey. It proposes more than two kilometres of new…
Posted on 14th January, 2026
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Construction Stage Flood Risk and the Lessons from Attleborough

Flood risk is most often scrutinised at the point a planning application is determined. Flood Risk Assessments are prepared, mitigation is proposed, and decisions are taken on the assumption that what has been assessed on paper is what will exist…
Posted on 13th January, 2026
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How AI Could Improve Flood Risk Management

Artificial intelligence is starting to reshape flood risk management, though not in the way the headlines suggest. AI in flood risk management works best as a support layer: it can sharpen flood forecasting, widen warning coverage and speed up the…
Posted on 5th January, 2026
, in AI 
, in NPPF 
, in SuDS 
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Below Standard Flood Defences: Protected on Paper, Vulnerable in Practice

Flood defence condition is measured against a target, not against whether a wall is still standing. On 1 April 2026 the Environment Agency reported that 93% of its flood risk assets in high consequence systems were in the required condition,…
Posted on 24th December, 2025
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Shropshire Canal Failure: What the Whitchurch Canal Breach Means for Flood Risk and Planning

A canal breach near Whitchurch, Shropshire, in the early hours of 22nd December 2025 drew national attention. The scale of the collapse was part of it, but so was what the failure revealed about how the UK manages, and plans…
Posted on 23rd December, 2025
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December 2025 NPPF Draft | Flood Risk and Sequential Test

Update, 17 August 2026: the final Framework has now been published and replaces the December 2024 NPPF. This article is retained as a record of what the consultation draft proposed. For what the published version actually changed, read our full…
Posted on 18th December, 2025
, in NPPF 
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Soils, Flooding and Resilience | World Soil Day

World Soil Day, observed each year on 5th December, highlights the critical importance of soils to environmental systems that are often taken for granted. Led by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization through the Global Soil Partnership, it focuses global…
Posted on 5th December, 2025
, in SuDS 
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Flood Map for Planning Wales: Flood Zones Explained

The Flood Map for Planning Wales is the official map used to assess flood risk in the Welsh planning system. Produced by Natural Resources Wales (NRW), it shows where land is at risk of flooding from rivers, the sea, and…
Posted on 14th November, 2025
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TAN 15 Explained: Flood Risk and Development in Wales

Technical Advice Note 15 – Development, Flooding and Coastal Erosion (TAN 15) – is Welsh Government planning guidance that sets out how flood risk and coastal erosion must be addressed in the planning system in Wales. The current version came…
Posted on 12th November, 2025
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Shrewsbury Floods, Ironbridge and Bewdley: What 25 Years of Severn Defences Changed

Shrewsbury floods because the town sits inside a loop of the River Severn, on ground the river has always used, at the foot of a catchment that gathers rain across mid Wales. Ironbridge and Bewdley flood for the same reason…
Posted on 5th November, 2025
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York Flooding: Why the Ouse Rises, and What 25 Years of Defences Changed

York flooding is not a freak event. It is the predictable consequence of where the city was built: at the meeting point of two rivers, at the bottom of a catchment draining most of the Yorkshire Dales, on ground flat…
Posted on 5th November, 2025
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Paving Over Gardens: Flood Risk and the Rules You Need to Know

Paving over gardens is one of the quiet drivers of urban flooding in the UK. When grass and planting are replaced with concrete, tarmac or block paving, rainwater can no longer soak into the ground. It runs off into drains…
Posted on 30th October, 2025
, in SuDS 
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How to Drive Through Flood Water

Knowing how to drive through flood water safely comes down to one rule above all others: if you can avoid it, don't drive through it at all. The Environment Agency advises drivers not to enter water that is moving or…
Posted on 28th October, 2025
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Arun’s SuDS Design Checklists: From Outline Application to Occupation

The Arun SuDS design checklists are five separate documents, published by Arun District Council in October 2025, and between them they govern a scheme from its first outline drawing to the day someone moves in. They align the district with…
Posted on 27th October, 2025
, in SuDS 
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Integrating Rainwater Harvesting into SuDS Design

Collecting rainwater isn’t a new idea. Many of us already do it at home, using a simple water butt to gather rain off the roof and reuse it on the garden. That, in essence, is what rainwater harvesting is: catching…
Posted on 24th October, 2025
, in SuDS 
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Green SuDS: Nature-Based Drainage in Modern Planning

Green SuDS are nature-based drainage features — swales, rain gardens, basins, green roofs and wetlands — that manage rainwater using vegetation and soil rather than buried pipes and tanks. Across England's planning system they have become the preferred form of…
Posted on 22nd October, 2025
, in SuDS 
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Planning for Flood Risk: The NPPF Explained

The National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) is the document that decides how flood risk is handled when land is developed in England. It tells councils to keep new building away from the places most likely to flood, to test the…
Posted on 16th October, 2025
, in NPPF 
, in SuDS 
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Defra and Its Role in England’s Flood Risk Management

The Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) plays a central role in how flood risk is managed across England. It is responsible for national policy, legislation and funding for flood and coastal erosion risk management (FCERM). Although Defra…
Posted on 16th October, 2025
, in NPPF 
, in SuDS 
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Planning is falling behind flood risk, says Aviva

Aviva’s Building future communities analysis presents a stark assessment of flood risk in England. By the middle of the century, millions more properties could be exposed to flooding, with risk increasingly driven by surface water flooding rather than rivers or…
Posted on 15th October, 2025
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Defra Confirms £10.5bn Flood Defence Funding Overhaul

In April, Defra’s consultation proposing a major overhaul of England’s flood funding system was launched, aiming to simplify access to investment and accelerate protection for communities most at risk. That consultation has now concluded, and the government has confirmed that…
Posted on 14th October, 2025
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Early SuDS Planning: CIRIA C823F and What the 2026 NPPF Now Requires

Early SuDS planning means settling the surface water question at land acquisition and site appraisal, before roads, levels and plot positions are fixed. Since 17 August 2026 that is no longer only good practice. CIRIA's guide Enabling development: Getting SuDS…
Posted on 6th October, 2025
, in SuDS 
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Does Tree Planting Reduce Flood Risk? What the UK Evidence Actually Shows

Does tree planting reduce flood risk? Yes, but the size of the effect depends almost entirely on scale, and the honest answer changes depending on how far back you stand. Measure a woodland hillside against the grazed field next to…
Posted on 26th September, 2025
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PPG flood risk: what the September 2025 Sequential Test update changed

The PPG flood risk guidance changed on 17th September 2025, and the four paragraphs it rewrote decide how a Sequential Test gets scoped and evidenced today. The sequential approach now reads across every source of flooding, surface water included. A…
Posted on 22nd September, 2025
, in NPPF 
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TCPA Raises Alarm on the Sequential Test: How Valid Are Their Concerns?

In August 2025 the Town and Country Planning Association (TCPA) issued a strongly worded briefing note on the sequential test. The paper reflects growing unease that the cornerstone of flood risk planning policy is being eroded through recent appeal decisions.…
Posted on 12th September, 2025
, in NPPF 
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Flood Map for Planning: What It Shows and How to Use It

The Flood Map for Planning is the Environment Agency's official online map of flood risk from rivers and the sea across England, used in the planning system to decide whether flooding needs to be assessed for a site. It is…
Posted on 29th August, 2025
, in NPPF 
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Flood Zones Explained: Zone 1, 2 and 3 (England)

Flood zones are how the planning system in England describes the chance of a site flooding from rivers or the sea. They sort land into Flood Zone 1, 2 or 3 (with Zone 3 split into 3a and 3b), from…
Posted on 28th August, 2025
, in NPPF 
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EA Flood Map for Planning: August 2025 Update

On the 27th August 2025, the Environment Agency (EA) will roll out changes to the Flood Map for Planning (FMfP). This update aims to make climate change flood risk data easier to use at the planning stage, while keeping the…
Posted on 15th August, 2025
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Can the Sequential Test Be Reformed to Unlock Homes?

As appeals like Faversham and Yatton make clear, national policy on flood risk is straining under its own weight. The Sequential Test — originally designed to steer vulnerable development away from areas at highest flood risk — is now increasingly…
Posted on 25th July, 2025
, in NPPF 
, in SuDS 
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Ofwat Abolished: What IWC Report Means for Planning

England and Wales’s water sector is at a crossroads. Years of underinvestment, regulatory fragmentation and inconsistent planning alignment have combined to produce a sector-wide confidence crisis — one now spilling directly into the planning system. While water is far from…
Posted on 21st July, 2025
, in IWC 
, in SuDS 
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Texas Flooding: UK Lessons in Planning and Climate Resilience

The floods have been described as among the worst natural disasters in Texas history by officials and multiple media outlets. As of 10 July, at least 120 people are confirmed dead and 173 remain missing, with Camp Mystic, an all-girls…
Posted on 10th July, 2025
, in FEMA 
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Flood Forecasting Centre vs the Environment Agency: Who Forecasts, Who Warns

The Flood Forecasting Centre forecasts flooding. The Environment Agency warns the public about it. Two organisations, two jobs, and a boundary almost nobody outside the responder community can draw. It matters more than it sounds. A planning condition can hang…
Posted on 8th July, 2025
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Met Office Flood Warnings: Who Actually Issues Them

The Met Office does not issue flood warnings. That one fact clears up most of the confusion behind the phrase, because a search for Met Office flood warnings almost always ends up somewhere else. The Environment Agency issues flood alerts…
Posted on 7th July, 2025
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Faversham Appeal Shifts Flood Risk Sequential Test Best Practice

A recent appeal decision (Ref: APP/V2255/W/24/3350524) has stirred interest across the planning and flood risk sectors. The case concerned an outline application for 250 homes on land at Ham Road, Faversham — partly at risk from tidal and surface water…
Posted on 3rd July, 2025
, in NPPF 
 | 

National Standards for Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS): The 2025 Rules and Where They Stand in 2026

The National Standards for Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS) are the government's design rules for how surface water is managed on new development in England. Defra published them on 19 June 2025 and updated them on 30 July 2025, replacing the…
Posted on 20th June, 2025
, in NPPF 
, in SuDS 
 | 

Flood Defence Gets £7.9bn Investment in UK Infrastructure Push

The UK Government has unveiled the largest flood defence investment programme in the nation’s history, committing £7.9 billion over the next decade to better protect homes, businesses and critical infrastructure from rising climate-driven flood risks. This announcement comes amid growing public…
Posted on 19th June, 2025
, in NPPF 
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Riparian Ownership: Rights, Responsibilities and Guidance

Riparian ownership means owning land that sits next to, above or contains a watercourse: a river, stream, brook or ditch. Unless your title deeds say otherwise, the law presumes you own the bed and banks of that channel up to…
Posted on 6th June, 2025
, in FRAP 
, in IDB 
, in LLFA 
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Thames Water Crisis: Sewage, Fines and Flood Risks

Thames Water, the UK's largest water utility, is embroiled in a deepening crisis, raising serious concerns about the sustainability of the privatised water industry. The company is battling on multiple fronts — staggering debt, regulatory fines, public outcry, and the…
Posted on 28th May, 2025
, in SuDS 
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Planning with EA Flood Risk Standing Advice

The Environment Agency's flood risk standing advice is national guidance that lets a local planning authority in England decide a planning application on flood risk without consulting the Environment Agency case by case. Written out in full it is the…
Posted on 23rd May, 2025
, in NPPF 
 | 

What the 2025–30 London Surface Water Strategy Means for Planning

As climate change accelerates and urban environments become denser, cities around the world face mounting challenges in managing water. Nowhere is this truer than in London, where the convergence of ageing infrastructure, rising population pressures, and increasingly erratic weather patterns…
Posted on 22nd May, 2025
, in SuDS 
, in TfL 
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Hosepipe Bans Loom Without Smarter Planning

As southern England inches toward what could become the driest spring in over a century, the warnings from regulators and water companies are unmistakable. Hosepipe bans may not yet be in place, but the message is clear: conserve water now,…
Posted on 19th May, 2025
, in SuDS 
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Oxford Flood Alleviation Scheme (OFAS) Approved

The Oxford Flood Alleviation Scheme (OFAS) is a £176 million flood defence project, led by the Environment Agency, that will reduce flood risk to more than 1,600 homes and businesses across Oxford and the surrounding villages. At its heart is…
Posted on 16th May, 2025
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New TAN15 2025: Flood & Planning Policy Update

On 31 March 2025, the Welsh Government published a long-anticipated update to Technical Advice Note 15 (TAN15): Development, Flooding and Coastal Erosion. This marks the most substantial reform to national flood risk planning guidance in over two decades, with the…
Posted on 2nd April, 2025
, in NRW 
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Sequential Test Failed, Appeal Allowed: What Yatton Means for Planning

A recent planning appeal decision in Yatton provides an insightful take on how the Sequential and Exception Tests are interpreted and applied within flood risk planning policy. This appeal, concerning the proposed development of a residential scheme on land south…
Posted on 28th March, 2025
, in NPPF 
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EA Flood Map for Planning: 2025 Update Explained

On 25th March 2025, the Environment Agency (EA) launched a major update to its Flood Map for Planning (FMfP), marking a pivotal shift in how flood risk is represented for the planning system in England. This update integrates findings from…
Posted on 27th March, 2025
, in NPPF 
 | 

Ordinary Watercourse Consent (OWC): The Complete Guide

Ordinary watercourse consent (OWC) is the written permission you need under Section 23 of the Land Drainage Act 1991 before carrying out any work that would obstruct or alter the flow of an ordinary watercourse: a stream, ditch, culvert or…
Posted on 28th February, 2025
, in EA 
, in IDB 
, in OWC 
 | 

Septic tank regulations in England: the General Binding Rules in 2026

The septic tank regulations that apply in England are the General Binding Rules — statutory conditions set by the Environment Agency that let a septic tank or small sewage treatment plant discharge legally without an environmental permit, provided it stays…
Posted on 28th February, 2025
, in SuDS 
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Foul, Surface & Combined Sewers: What to Know

When planning a new development, one crucial factor that developers, architects and planners must consider is how wastewater and surface water will be managed. The type of sewer infrastructure present on or near a site can significantly influence the design,…
Posted on 25th February, 2025
, in SuDS 
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Thames Tideway Tunnel: London’s Super Sewer Now Open

After ten years of construction, the Thames Tideway Tunnel is fully connected, with all 21 connections to London’s Victorian sewer system complete. The tunnel has already prevented 5.5 million cubic metres of sewage from entering the Thames—equivalent to 2,200 Olympic-sized…
Posted on 17th February, 2025
, in SuDS 
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Thames Barrier: London’s Flood Defence Against Tidal Surges

The Thames Barrier is the largest movable flood barrier protecting London, holding back the tidal surges that would otherwise push up the estuary and into the heart of the city. It spans 520 metres of the River Thames near Woolwich…
Posted on 14th February, 2025
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Flood and Water Management Act 2010 Explained

The Flood and Water Management Act 2010 is the law that governs how flood risk is managed in England and Wales. It received Royal Assent on 8 April 2010, made county and unitary councils responsible for local flooding, gave the…
Posted on 6th January, 2025
, in LLFA 
, in SuDS 
 | 

The Pitt Review: impact, legacy and the gaps that remain

The Pitt Review was the independent inquiry, published in 2008, that reshaped how the United Kingdom manages flood risk. Commissioned by the government after the catastrophic summer floods of 2007, and led by Sir Michael Pitt, it made 92 recommendations…
Posted on 3rd January, 2025
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What is BRE365 Infiltration Testing (Soakaway Design)?

BRE365 infiltration testing is the in-ground test that measures how fast your site's soil can absorb surface water, so you can prove a soakaway will work and size it correctly. It follows BRE Digest 365, the standard UK method for…
Posted on 2nd December, 2024
, in NPPF 
, in SuDS 
 | 

Flood Modelling Software: Tools & Techniques Guide

Flood modelling is the use of hydrological and hydraulic simulation to work out how water will behave across a landscape: where it will go, how deep it will get, and how fast it will move. Flood modelling software turns that…
Posted on 20th November, 2024
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Flood Risk Activity Permits (FRAP): The Complete 2026 Guide

A flood risk activity permit (FRAP) is the environmental permit you need before carrying out work on, under, over or near a main river, a flood defence, a sea defence or a floodplain in England. It is issued by the…
Posted on 6th September, 2024
, in EA 
, in FRAP 
, in NRW 
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Main Rivers and Ordinary Watercourses: A Guide for Planning

Every river, stream, brook and ditch in England and Wales is legally either a main river or an ordinary watercourse, and the difference decides who regulates it, who maintains it, and whose consent you need before you build near it.…
Posted on 5th September, 2024
, in EA 
, in FRAP 
, in NRW 
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Water Companies and the Planning Process: A Developer’s Guide

Water companies and the planning process are closely tied, even though the water company rarely appears on a decision notice. When you develop a site, your regional water and sewerage company is the body that confirms whether the network can…
Posted on 2nd September, 2024
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What Is a Local Planning Authority (LPA)? A Guide for Developers

A local planning authority (LPA) is the council responsible for deciding planning applications in its area and for shaping how land is used and developed. Almost every development, from a single-storey extension to a housing scheme, passes through an LPA…
Posted on 30th August, 2024
, in NPPF 
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Natural Resources Wales (NRW): flood risk and planning

Natural Resources Wales (NRW) is the Welsh Government-sponsored body that manages flood risk in Wales and advises the planning system on it. It is the Welsh equivalent of the Environment Agency, formed on 1 April 2013 when Environment Agency Wales,…
Posted on 29th August, 2024
, in NRW 
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The Environment Agency (EA): Flood Risk and Planning

The Environment Agency is the government's statutory adviser on flood risk in the English planning system. It does not decide planning applications, but where a site carries flood risk its advice usually shapes whether permission is granted, refused, or held…
Posted on 28th August, 2024
, in NPPF 
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Internal Drainage Boards (IDBs): what they do and why they matter for planning

An internal drainage board (IDB) is an independent public body that manages water levels and land drainage in a low-lying area at particular risk of flooding. England has 112 IDBs covering around 1.2 million hectares, roughly 9.7% of the country,…
Posted on 27th August, 2024
, in NPPF 
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Lead Local Flood Authority (LLFA): What It Is and What It Means for Your Application

A Lead Local Flood Authority (LLFA) is the county council or unitary authority responsible for managing local flood risk across its area: surface water, groundwater and ordinary watercourses. On major planning applications it is a statutory consultee on surface water…
Posted on 26th August, 2024
, in LLFA 
, in NPPF 
, in SuDS 
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What Are Strategic Flood Risk Assessments (SFRAs)?

Strategic Flood Risk Assessments (SFRAs) are a central component of flood risk management in the English planning system. While frequently referenced in the preparation of Local Plans and in the context of site allocation, their strategic role is often underappreciated…
Posted on 23rd August, 2024
, in NPPF 
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EA Flood Map Challenge: What You Need to Know

Flood mapping plays a crucial role in the planning process across England. For landowners, developers, and planners, accurate flood zone designations by the Environment Agency (EA) are essential — not just for safe and sustainable development, but also to avoid…
Posted on 3rd June, 2024
, in NPPF 
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The Great Flood of 1968: causes, the towns it hit, and the risk today

In the middle of September 1968, much of South East England disappeared under water. Two days of near-constant rain, the worst of it on Sunday 15 September, turned quiet rivers into torrents and turned high streets into channels you could…
Posted on 14th September, 2023
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Beavers and Flood Risk: What Landowners and Developers Need to Know

Beavers and flood risk stopped being a curiosity the moment the law changed. England has had a licensed route to release beavers into the wild since February 2025, three projects are now running, and Natural England is working with around…
Posted on 19th February, 2018
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Are Amphibious houses the answer to flood prone areas?

An amphibious house rests on ordinary foundations for most of its life. When floodwater arrives, the building rises within a purpose-built dock and floats, held in place by vertical guide posts. As the water recedes, it settles back down. The…
Posted on 1st March, 2017
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Communities Affected by Groundwater Flooding in the UK

Groundwater flooding is not spread evenly across the country. The areas affected by groundwater flooding cluster in a narrow band of communities sitting on or just downstream of the Chalk, and the same villages tend to flood again and again:…
Posted on 29th September, 2015
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How to protect your home from flooding: a UK homeowner’s guide

You cannot stop a river rising or a storm drain backing up. What you can decide is how much of that water reaches your rooms, and how much it costs you when it does. Knowing how to protect your home…
Posted on 25th September, 2015
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Building on Floodplains: A Developer’s Guide to the 2026 Rules

Building on floodplains is not banned in England, but whether a scheme gets consent comes down to three things: the flood zone the land sits in, the type of development proposed, and the strength of the flood risk evidence submitted…
Posted on 18th September, 2015
, in NPPF 
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