Planning authorities across England will receive new tools this week from the Environment Agency which should enable them to make more informed and speedier decisions on planning applications in order to steer development away from areas at risk from flooding.

5 million people, 1.8 million homes and 185,000 businesses are at risk of flooding in England and Wales. Property, land and assets to the value of £200 billion lie in the floodplains.

Flooding is a natural process – we can never stop it happening altogether. So tackling flooding is more than just defending against floods. It means understanding the complex causes of flooding and taking co-ordinated action on every front to reduce flood risk.

As part of the government’s Planning Policy Guidance on Development and Flood Risk issued in 2001 'Flood Zones' were introduced to help planning authorities in applying a sequential test in flood sensitive locations.

Flood Zones, defined by the Environment Agency, are developed from a combination of the latest computer modelling techniques, aerial surveys, historic flood data and local information from Environment Agency teams on the ground.

The Flood Zones provide better indications of the likelihood of flooding and the predicted extent of the natural floodplain and extreme flood events. They will assist in both plan-making and the consideration of development proposals.

The new Flood Zones are accompanied by standing advice from the Environment Agency on development in flood risk areas. This will help speed up the determination of many lower-risk planning applications as planning authorities will be able to process the application more quickly based on a standard response.

This approach enables the Environment Agency to focus its resources on responding more effectively to higher-risk applications and will assist local planning authorities in meeting government targets for deciding applications.

The Flood Zones and standing advice have been given to planning authorities in England. Some planning authorities will already be familiar with standing advice and new users will be offered support from the Environment Agency’s Area Teams. The Environment Agency has also provided Flood Zone data to the Welsh Assembly to assist it in finalising a new Technical Advice Note (TAN15) on development and flood risk for Wales.

Mark Southgate, head of planning and local government for the Environment Agency, said “Flood Zones represent a significant achievement in improving the baseline information available to planners on flood risk.”

“Flooding is a natural occurrence and with climate change we are expecting to see more frequent extreme weather events with an increase in both flooding and drought. The importance of assessing flood risk in planning applications is crucial to protecting people and their properties from the risk of flooding and the new Flood Zones will help planners to make more informed decisions.”

The Environment Agency will continue to improve and update its information on flood risk, and Flood Zones will be updated on a regular basis as new information becomes available. The Environment Agency is in the second year of a five year programme to develop its flood mapping as part of its commitment to provide as much information as possible to help planners and the public prepare for flooding.