Assessing, Managing and Reducing Flood Risk
Expert flood risk assessments for planners, developers, and conveyancers throughout the UK
🚨 Delayed or Refused Planning Approval Due to Flood Risk?
We can provide flood risk assessments (FRAs) to planners, developers, and conveyancers throughout the UK.
As a specialist flood and environmental risk consultancy, we provide a full range of services to test, collate, and submit a flood risk assessment for UK planning applications. We can work with any size of development and our experience with submitting planning proposals to local and national planning authorities saves you time and money as we know exactly what they're looking for.
Which Developments Need a Flood Risk Assessment?
Flood risk assessments are now a requirement for sites under development, especially those planned for a Zone 2 or Zone 3 flood risk area.
The Planning Authority may delay or refuse planning approval on receipt of an objection to the development from the Environment Agency (England). The Government Agency will usually object to planning applications for the following reasons:
Sequential & Exception Tests
Failure to apply or meet the requirements of the Sequential and Exceptions Tests (England)
Missing FRA
The planning application is not supported by a site specific Flood Risk Assessment
We support developers every day to get their planning approved in flood risk areas. We possess the necessary skills and have extensive experience in the preparation of Sequential and Exceptions Test Reports; and Flood Risk Assessments to comply with current planning policy for developments of all sizes; and can deliver high quality reports at competitive prices throughout England.
Our Expertise Increases Your Chances of Planning Application Success
We are a specialist consultancy for UK flood and environmental risk. We're focused towards supporting developments and construction projects of all sizes. We support planning applications in multiple sectors, including residential, commercial, power, renewable energy, and infrastructure.
If your site is within Flood Zone 2 or 3, or is over one hectare within Flood Zone 1, national planning policies now require your planning application to include a flood risk assessment (FRA).
Our experienced consultants stay up-to-date with the latest policy changes and use only the highest quality data to support your planning application, giving you the best chance at achieving planning approval. We can also provide a full range of services to test, collate, and submit FRA's for any size development, including those in Critical Drainage Areas (CDAs).
How to Check if Your Development is in a Flood Zone
You can check if your development is within a flood zone, and therefore whether an FRA is required for your planning application, by looking at the Environment Agency's flood maps.
Flood Risk Assessment Requirements
You must complete a site specific Flood Risk Assessment to support your planning application if your proposed development:
Has been requested to carry out the flood risk assessment by the planning department
Includes building or engineering works within Flood Zones 2 and/or 3 and is therefore at risk of flooding from a river or the sea
Includes building or engineering works on land or within an area which is identified to have critical drainage problems
Changes the use of land or buildings in a place at risk of flooding from rivers or the sea, or with critical drainage problems
Changes the use of land or buildings in a way that increases flood vulnerability of the development where it may be subject to other sources of flooding
Is larger than 1 Hectare
We can help you fully understand your flood risks, meet your planning application requirements, and recommend strategies to address complex flood risks that could stand in the way of you getting planning approval.
How We Produce Your Flood Risk Assessment
Once you give us your plans for the development of the site, we'll liaise with the relevant governing body and your local planning authority to assess their exact requirements. We'll then request the necessary data to accurately assess the flood risk.
Each of our FRAs combine the detailed information about previous flood events and consider the potential risks from rainfall, groundwater, rivers, and the sea. We'll tailor them to match your requirements and advise you on exactly what you need to do to mitigate in each case.
At every step we can advise you on design approaches to reduce the flood risk to your site. We often act as intermediaries between architects or planning consultants and the environment authority, putting us in a strong position to pass on design solutions to strengthen your planning approval application.
Latest EA Flood Maps
Using current Environment Agency flood mapping for planning
Surface Water Risk
Risk of flooding from surface water assessment
1D/2D Modelling
Bespoke hydraulic modelling aligned with latest guidance
Our FRA Will Assist the Local Planning Authority By Providing:
Details of the flood risks which impact the site and how they will change over the lifetime of the development
Whether a development will cause an increase in flood risk both within and external to the site
How flood risk within the site will be managed
How Our FRAs Can Benefit Planning Applications
Reduce Costs
Reduce the costs associated with planning delays and design changes
Speed Up Process
Speed up the planning process through improved communication with Environment Agency and local planning authorities
Improve Success
Improve your chances of securing planning permission
The Flood Risk Team Can Analyse Multiple Data Sources to Provide an In-Depth Assessment That:
Meets essential requirements for planning applications
Identifies and addresses any potential risks to planning application approval
Suggests potential mitigation measures if risk is discovered
Assesses the development proposals against national and regional planning policies
Ascertains the likelihood and extent of flooding both now and in the future
How We Can Support Your High Flood Risk Development
We tailor all of our flood risk assessments and associated services to your requirements. Each report or assessment will address the specific issues or requirements that your local planning authority might have so you can be sure you're covering every necessary base.
The Services That We Frequently Undertake and Are Therefore Very Experienced In Are:
Flood risk assessment for planning applications
1D and 2D computational flood modelling to support planning applications
Groundwater flood risk assessments or basement impact assessments
Sequential and exception testing
Surface water drainage strategies
Flood response plans
Advice on flood defences and flood risk management
Reports to gain credits for BREEAM environmental accreditation
Surface water drainage strategies, flood response, flood warning and evacuation plans
Attendance at Committee and Appeal as and when required
Specialist Flood Risk Services
1D and 2D Computational Flood Modelling
Flood modelling is particularly useful if your site falls within Zone 2 or 3 (medium or high flood risk). It can also be useful if your site is close to a river, watercourse, or drain.
To use this flood modelling, we'll need to visit your site for data collection and then we can produce detailed hydrological models of worst-case scenarios. This modelling data can really benefit your planning application if you have a high risk of flooding.
Groundwater and Basement Developments
If the local planning authority has flagged groundwater as a potential issue with the site, we can develop a detailed conceptual model to assess the risk to the property and design mitigation measures if required.
We can also provide site-specific basement impact assessment reports to detail any risk posed by your proposed basement development on your property and the surrounding area. In some boroughs of London, this is now a requirement for basement construction.
Sequential and Exception Testing
A sequential test is used to steer new developments towards areas with the lowest possibility of flooding. If your site has not been allocated or tested then you may need to include this within your planning application.
This requires a comparative analysis of the flood risk to your development site compared to other potential sites that fall within the comparison area. Our consultants can advise you whether it's required or not for your development.
Sustainable Drainage Strategies (SuDS)
Local planning authorities often require developers to plan how they will manage surface water for their development. We can provide Sustainable Drainage Strategy (SuDS) reports to satisfy this requirement.
If a surface water plan is already in place, we can check this strategy with policy guidelines to make sure it has the best chance of gaining planning approval.
BREEAM Accreditation
We can help you get credits for environmental accreditations to help you gain better management of environmental risks, increased access to new customers and business partners, demonstrate legal and regulatory compliance, and the potential for reduced liability insurance costs.
Flood Response Plans
Our reports can also include suggestions that will enable you to set up and maintain flood warning and evacuation plans in the event of various levels of potential flooding.
Our Flood Risk Team Provides In-Depth Analysis That:
Meets Essential Requirements
Meets essential requirements for planning applications
Identifies Risks
Identifies and addresses any potential risks to planning application approval
Suggests Mitigation
Suggests potential mitigation measures if risk is discovered
Policy Assessment
Assesses the development proposals against national and regional planning policies
Future Projection
Ascertains the likelihood and extent of flooding both now and in the future
Comprehensive Flood Risk Services
We tailor all of our flood risk assessments and associated services to your requirements. Each report or assessment will address the specific issues or requirements that your local planning authority might have so you can be sure you're covering every necessary base.
Flood Risk Assessment
Comprehensive FRAs for planning applications
1D and 2D Flood Modelling
Computational flood modelling to support planning applications
Groundwater Assessment
Groundwater flood risk and basement impact assessments
Sequential & Exception Testing
Comparative analysis for high flood risk sites
Surface Water Drainage
Sustainable drainage strategies and SuDS design
Flood Response Plans
Flood warning and evacuation plans
Flood Defence Advice
Advice on flood defences and flood risk management
BREEAM Assessment
Reports to gain credits for BREEAM environmental accreditation
Hydraulic River Modelling
Advanced river modelling for complex sites
When You Work With Zevlo, You Increase Your Chances of Planning Approval Success
Experienced Team
A highly experienced and responsive team that are happy to answer any questions you may have along the way
ICE Engineers On Hand
Internal ICE Engineers on hand should any issues come up and new designs need to be proposed
Great Relationships
Great relationships with Environment Agency and local planning authorities for rapid report turnaround
How Long Does a Flood Risk Assessment Take?
Over the years, we've developed a great working relationship with each governing agency throughout the UK. We know the best ways to obtain their data, so we can deliver flood risk assessments both quickly and efficiently.
We request much of our data from the Environment Agency (EA), or the relevant governing agency, so our turnaround is determined by their workload at the time. The EA have a statutory 20 working day turnaround for all enquiries, including data. Sometimes, we can achieve a quicker turnaround if the EA's workload in your area is low.
Generally, it will take those 20 days for us to receive the data as a regulatory time. From then, we conduct thorough analysis with our in-house GIS software. Once this is done, we'll review the results with you and examine the risk of flooding before we complete the report. We make sure to keep you up-to-date throughout the whole process so you're always aware of timelines so you can get on with organising the rest of the planning application.
⚡ Can I Fast-Track an FRA?
We can fast-track your Flood Risk Assessment if you're working to a tight timescale and need to get your planning application validated right away. We can put a rush on our analysis work, however, we're still beholden to the relevant agency for their data. Thanks to our great relationship, we can usually get data a little quicker if necessary but we can't guarantee this.
Additional Flood Risk Services
Strategic Flood Risk Assessment
Flood Map Challenge
Insurance & Business Continuity
Non-adoptable Wastewater Treatment
Drainage Strategy Development
EIA Chapters
Percolation Testing
Soakaway Design
Sustainable Drainage (SUDS) Design
Feasibility Assessment
Construction Environmental Management Plans
Property Level Protection
Flood Storage Compensation
Hydrological Assessment
Detailed Drainage Design (unadopted)
Detailed Drainage Design (S104)
Ready to Get Your Flood Risk Assessment?
Don't let flood risk assessments delay your project. Work with experienced consultants who know exactly what planning authorities are looking for.