Planning and Flood Risk

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The truly awful images this week of flooding in  north Wales tell their very own picture and its hard to imagine how those affected must be feeling this weekend. 

Already calls for inquiries into why land flooded are mounting. The photo alongside shows flooding in Glasdir this week.

Planning in flood risk areas is understandably controversial. Developers (and Councils) have to go to considerable lengths to ensure risk is properly considered.  It may help to explain why below.

Welsh Government Development Advice Maps are used as the starting point for assessing flood risk.  The land in green is a so called C1 zone  served by significant infrastructure including flood defences. Glasdir lies within it.

Go briefly to TAN 15 - Development and Flood Risk and you will read that the precautionary approach it adopts permits, where a number of tests are met, residential development in a C1 Zone. 

Under TAN15 the development must pass a justification test and if justified, a consequences test.  Any application for housing in flood risk areas is always accompanied by a very detailed Flood Consequences Assessment using up-to-date data and modelling agreed with the Environment Agency.  

Although Glasdir was permitted before TAN15, it is unfair to compare it to the current test.  However, on face value if the same decision had to be made today - it seems it would be TAN15 compliant.

Thats not to say the land wont ever flood as we have seen this week - but the risk of and from flooding would have been properly considered and mitigation (for example new flood defences or drainage) will be part of the conditions attached to any permission.

Although the Welsh Government announced changes requiring "flood risk area development" to be notified to it to allow consideration of calling the application for a nationally made decision earlier this year,  it still wouldn't apply to flood zones such as at Glasdir.