Neighbourhood planning advice

When creating a neighbourhood plan, it's important to consider the risk of flooding - both now and in the future. Neighbourhood plans should include an assessment of flood risk from all sources.

To help with this, we recommend including flood maps that show all types of flooding across your whole neighbourhood plan area. Helpful maps and tools include:

• Flood map for planning
• Areas at long term flood risk
• Flood and water management policies
• Lead Local Flood Authority Guidance Document (PDF, 2 MB)

If your neighbourhood plan proposed to allocate sites for development, you will need to:

• Try to place new development in areas with the lowest flood risk.
• Make sure any development in flood-prone areas will be safe for its entire lifetime, even with climate change.
• Show how flood risk will be managed so it doesn't get worse. And show how flood risk could be reduced (for example, by using sustainable drainage systems where suitable).

Any development must align with the local planning authority's application of the Sequential Test (and if necessary the Exception Test). 

You can find more information at:

• Information for developers
• Section 14 of the National Planning Policy Framework
• The Flood Risk and Coastal Change section of the Planning Practice Guidance

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