Strategic Flood Risk Assessment (SFRA)
The Strategic Flood Risk Assessment (SFRA) is a study intended to evaluate the risk of flooding to the borough from all sources, now and in the future. It takes account of the impacts of climate change and assesses the effect land use changes and development in the borough will have on flood risk.
Among others the document will;
- inform planning policy development that will buttress decision making, particularly within areas that have been identified as having relatively higher risk of flooding
- steer development towards areas of lowest flood risk through application of the Sequential Test and, where necessary, the Exception Test (as described in NPPF guidelines)
- support the development management process by providing more informed responses to developer’s proposals which may be adversely affected by flooding
- support the council in the discharge of its duties while providing the evidence to inform future infrastructure planning and investment decisions
- support developers’ flood risk assessment during planning application process
For the following reasons the SFRA has undergone a review to incorporate up to date information on all sources of flooding in the borough, resulting in the most recent version produced in 2016 and adopted in March 2017;
- in recent years there has been a significant change in the legislative framework for flood risk management via the Flood Risk Regulations 2009 and the Flood & Water Management Act 2010
- applicable planning policy and associated guidance have evolved with the introduction of the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) and the National Planning Practice Guidance (NPPG)
- there is a better understanding of surface water and groundwater flooding
- the EA has produced more refined breach models relating to tidal flood risk from River Thames
Page last updated: 02 November 2017
