Personal, pragmatic advice on Flood Risk Assessments

Flood Risk Assessments (FRAs) are now a requirement of most planning applications. Early assessment of these issues has the potential to reduce costs and minimise delays associated with the planning process. Yet a good working knowledge of the local geography, technical skill, and awareness of Planning Policy Statement (PPS) 25 specifications are often not sufficient to produce an effective FRA report that supports your broader development objectives.

Our understanding of how flood risk relates to broader development objectives allows us to develop solutions which address the planning issues - but which also can be built and make a positive contribution to the development.

We are prepared to consider the unexpected. We challenge conventional thinking and address directly any consequences that may affect your ability to build. We have the courage to say what can't be done. Above all, we are able to help take the pain out of negotiating the labyrinth of guidance allowing you to concentrate on other aspects of the development.

In the current proposals to update the definitions of flood zones within PPS25, there are clear signals of the Government’s desire to reduce the emphasis on a purely probabilistic approach. However, this alone does not prevent the Environment Agency from taking a different approach.

Paul Jenkin, partner, clarifies the proposals and explains what PBA has proposed to the Department for Communities and Local Government.

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