Strategic flood risk assessment

Background

The PUSH SFRA 2016 Update has delivered revised reporting, mapping and guidance notes to replace the document “Partnership for Urban South Hampshire Strategic Flood Risk Assessment Final Report, December 2007”. The update was undertaken on behalf of PUSH by the Eastern Solent Coastal Partnership and delivered in June 2016.

Since the publication of the previous PUSH SFRA there have been a number of changes to planning guidance and new legislation that includes the Flood and Water Management Act (2010). National planning policy is now defined in the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) and the supporting Planning Practice Guidance (NPPG).

The Environment Agency’s modelling of flood risk has also been improved. This has led to some updates to the present-day maps of flood risk which the PUSH SFRA doesn’t take into account. These changes may supersede some areas displayed in the hazard mapping and climate change mapping layers. The Council is looking to update the SFRA in the future as part of its work on the new Local Plan in order to take these changes into account.

This Level 1 Strategic Flood Risk Assessment (SFRA) is a strategic document which assesses and maps all forms of flood risk from tidal, river, groundwater, surface water and sewer sources, taking into account future climate change predictions. The package of work provides appropriate supporting evidence for The PUSH Spatial Strategy review in addition to Local Plans being developed by the local partner authorities.

The purpose of the PUSH SFRA update has been to:

provide information that reflects the changes to planning policy and guidance and new Legislation since the previous SFRA;
provide a high level assessment of the flood hazard within the Flood Zones;
provide a high level assessment of the effects of climate change scenarios on sea level rise at the coast and in estuaries and river flows upstream;
provide information on existing defences and flood risk management measures;
provide an evidence base to allow a sequential approach to site allocation to be undertaken within a flood zone;
allow development of the policies and practices required to ensure that any development being considered in Flood Zones 2 and 3 is appropriate and satisfies the requirements of the NPPF.