Clive Onions Ltd is delighted to have undertaken many Flood Risk Assessments for Pegasus Group in support of their planning applications. The projects have included solar farms and residential sites, on green and brownfield land for commercial clients.
With the current growth in development and the pressure on available land, many sites require a Flood Risk Assessment, either because they are larger than 1 hectare or because they are in areas vulnerable to flooding.
An important (and often overlooked) first step is to undertake a desk–based appraisal to establish the Flood Zone attributed to the land on the Environment Agency Flood Maps which is proposed for development. If any part of the development is in Flood Zones 2 or 3, which show risk of flooding, the need for a Sequential Test should be established by referring to the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) and its technical guidance, based on the area of search which must be agreed with the Local Planning Authority. To progress a development without it passing the Sequential Test could involve abortive work, and Clive Onions work with Pegasus Group to prepare a suitable Sequential Test.
If the site passes the Sequential Test, the next stage is to show that the site is safe for the lifetime of the development and does not make flooding worse elsewhere, and therefore passes the Exception Test.
The approach adopted by Clive Onions Ltd is then to prepare a draft Flood Risk Assessment based on the site flood and drainage characteristics, recommending a flood mitigation and drainage strategy as appropriate. The recommendations are then reviewed with Pegasus Group and integrated into the overall development to produce a cost efficient design solution and the Flood Risk Assessment completed.
Despite the development receiving planning consent, insurers may have different assessment criteria in relation to flooding and add a premium or even decline to insure property. It is therefore important for the Design Team to remind the client to check the insurance situation with his broker, prior to proceeding with the development.
Clive Onions has advised on civil engineering for over 35 years. He has been a Member and Vice Chairman of the Institution of Civil Engineer’s Expert Panel on Water for 10 years. He has reviewed and advised on many technical and policy documents related to flood risk and sustainable drainage and investigated the cause of major flooding events across the country.
