Environment and sustainability
Flood risk
Southwark Council is a lead local flood risk authority, which means we're required to plan for and co-ordinate action to minimise the risk of flooding within our borough. As part of this, we must take flood risk into account when approving new developments and have robust flood risk planning policies. Below are the evidence base documents that support our flood risk policies in the Southwark Plan (2022).
Strategic flood risk assessment (SFRA)
A stage 1 SFRA was prepared in 2016 and published in March 2017. The SFRA:
- provides an overall assessment of flood risk in the borough
- sets out a strategy and recommendations for managing flood risk in the borough
- forms part of the council’s evidence base for the emerging policies in the Southwark Plan (2022) and the Old Kent Road Area Action Plan
You can find out more information about the SFRA and view the 2016 SFRA and supporting documents
Sequential test
The sequential test is a requirement for local planning authorities (LPAs) to identify where new development can be located in the area of the lowest flood risk. Where this isn't possible, LPAs are required to justify the decision to locate development sites in areas of flood risk. A sequential test has been undertaken for the Southwark Plan (2022). You can download the document below:
Page last updated: 01 June 2023
