Environment Agency Flood Risk and Coastal Erosion Guidance
When is this required:
All planning applications for:
- development within, in whole or in part of flood zone 2 and/or flood zone 3;
- development on sites with an area of 1 hectare or more (in flood zones 1, 2 or 3); and
- development within critical drainage areas.
What information is required?
For residential and non-residential development of less than 250 square metres in flood risk zones 2 and 3, a simple flood risk assessment, which includes a plan showing finished floor levels and estimated flood levels, will be required. For other qualifying developments, a Flood Risk Assessment should identify and assess the risks of all forms of flooding to and from the development and demonstrate how these flood risks will be managed, taking climate change into account.
Guidance provided by the Environment Agency and Defra outlines the scope of Flood Risk Assessments based on the location of the development, the links below provide guidance for each scenario:
Flood Risk Assessments should use the latest Environment Agency flood risk information, including the Flood Map for Planning datasets and relevant climate change information.
- 'Flood Zone 1 and Critical Drainage Areas’
- 'Flood Zones 2 and 3’
- 'Flood Zones 2 and 3: minor extensions and vulnerable development’
Overall, it is expected Flood Risk Assessment will contain:
- reference to the Strategic Flood Risk Assessment (often adopted as part of the Local Plan);
- a sequential/exception test if necessary;
- plans, including outline of development proposals with identified SuDS;
- surveys;
- assessments of flood risk and surface water run-off, including impacts to offsite locations; and
- flood management and protection measures.
Environment Agency Flood Risk and Coastal Erosion Documents
The Environment Agency has updated national flood risk and coastal erosion information, through the National Flood Risk Assessment 2 (NaFRA2), the National Coastal Erosion Risk Map (NCERM), and updated Flood Map for Planning datasets. These documents below provide guidance on the use of these datasets by local planning authorities, developers and flood risk practitioners.
- Changes to the Flood Map for Planning Service - External Briefing, May 2026
- National Flood Risk Assessment 2(NaFRA2) and National Coastal Erosion Risk Map (NCERM) Q&A, May 2026
The Flood Map for Planning service was updated in May 2026 to include surface water climate change extents and banded depth information. These datasets should be used for planning purposes in preference to surface water climate change information previously available through Check Your Log Term Flood Risk service.
The 'Site-specific flood risk assessment: Checklist' contained on the Planning Practice Guidance website may help preparation.
Further Information:
Flood map for planning - GOV.UK (flood-map-for-planning.service.gov.uk)
Flood risk assessments if you're applying for planning permission - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)