The impact of flooding can be reduced by avoiding development in areas at risk from flooding.
Regional planning bodies and local planning authorities prepare Regional or Strategic Flood Risk Assessments that identify land at risk of flooding from rivers, the sea and other sources. This information is used to help decide where development can be located.
Local authorities sometimes allocate land in spatial plans and developers look for sites for housing and other developments in areas at risk of river and sea flooding. They must show that there are no alternative sites available with a lower flood risk, that would be appropriate to the type of development proposed.
The Environment Agency will normally object to development on the floodplain but there are some circumstances when other planning considerations can outweigh flooding implications. In these cases appropriate measures to reduce flood risk, including emergency arrangements, are included in the design and implementation of the development. The local planning authority is responsible for approving planning applications.
See: How Land is used in the Severn catchment?
Bewdley Case Study: How can planning help reduce flood risk?
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