Is your property or land in a flood risk area? Here’s how to find out
It’s easy to get carried away with a vision for a property development, but before anyone gets too invested, it’s imperative to factor in the realities of securing planning and what can put a spanner in the works—flooding from the sea or rivers being one of them.
If you’re looking to get planning permission for changes to an existing property or want to develop in an area where there may be a potential flood risk, we’ve got you covered in this comprehensive guide.
We’ll talk you through flood zones, what they mean, and how to get the most thorough flood risk checks for property or land in the UK.
If you’re a property developer, this also helps cover your back from a legal and safety standpoint.
Flood zones explained and what they mean for your property plans
There are three main flood zones in the UK, which are outlined below.
- Flood Zone 1: Lowest risk
Flood Zone 1 areas have less than a 1 in 1000 chance of experiencing flooding. There are not many restrictions for a flood zone 1 property, and you are likely to secure planning permission without too much hassle. However, if your property is over 1 hectare, you must still have a flood risk assessment. - Flood Zone 2: Medium risk
In Flood Zone 2, there’s a medium-level risk of flooding. This means river flooding could occur every 100 years and sea flooding every 200 years. It’s likely that architectural designs in Flood Zone 2 could get planning permission, but only if flood resilience measures are added to the plans. - Flood Zones 3a and 3b: High risk (flood plains)
To add some complexity, Flood Zone 3 encompasses two categories: 3a and 3b. What you really want to know if you’re categorised with Flood Zone 3 is whether you can get planning permission on a flood plain.
If the land is categorised as 3a, it may be possible to develop or build property on that land with a comprehensive Flood Risk Assessment (FRA) and planning details. However, if the property or land is given the 3b category, this makes it very difficult to secure planning permission. Not sure? Contact the team at Ashfield Solutions and we can advise.
How do you know which flood zone you’re in?
Ashfield Solutions can do some quick preliminary checks to determine which flood zone category applies to your property or land and advise on next steps, such as whether you need a flood risk assessment or not.
How to find flood risk of a property?
With so many data sources and organisations available to find flood data for an area of land or property, it can be difficult to know where to start.
You could go straight to a reputable source, such as the Gov.UK website. However, even their flood risk checks are not all-encompassing. For instance, you can’t find out if a single property is liable for flooding or if flooding has occurred due to blocked drains. There are also different organisations that tackle flood risk in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
So, where do you go from there?
That’s where getting support from trusted consultants can help. With specialists operating across flood risk, we can leverage our contacts and resources to confidently determine whether your property or land is at risk of flooding and what the possible next steps would be. If you’re looking to secure planning for your land or for a client, this should be your first port of call before you even draw up any plans.
That’s because if the property is situated in a flood zone, you may need to make adjustments or risk your plans being refused by the local planning authority.
It can be helpful to know that planning authorities must consult with the Environment Agency, and that’s where Ashfield’s working relationships with the right contacts, both at the council and the Environment Agency, can help you get the answers you need sooner.
The team at Ashfield Solutions can advise on potential adjustments that could help you secure planning if flooding is a potential problem. This could include adding details of how you’ll incorporate sustainable drainage into your land or around your property. Contact our trustworthy team today to get advice on flood risk and acquire a comprehensive Flood Risk Assessment.