After the long weekend there has been a lot to digest with the release of the new Planning Policy Guidance (PPG) update on 25th August. We have been working hard this week to review the extensive changes to the Flood Risk and Coastal Change section to establish what impact the update may have on future developments coming through the planning system.
Below is a summary of the main changes to the PPG and how the update may affect your development moving forward.
What are the main changes and what do they mean to your development?
There have been a lot of changes within the latest update and we would be here all day if we were to outline all of them but the major take homes are as follows:
The Functional Floodplain has been redefined
The Functional Floodplain comprises land where water from the river or the sea has to flow, or be stored, in times of flood. Previously the Functional Floodplain (Flood Zone 3b) was defined as land with a 1 in 20 (5%) or greater annual probability of flooding in any given year. The PPG update states that the Functional Floodplain is now defined as land with a 1 in 30 (3.3%) or greater annual probability of flooding in any given year.
This change will result in a greater area of land being defined as ‘Functional Floodplain’ and classified as unsuitable for Less, More and Highly Vulnerable development. Refer to Table 2: Flood risk vulnerability and flood zone ‘incompatibility’, found here.
There is a clearer emphasis on the preference of multifunctional Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS)
Whilst above-ground, multifunctional SuDS are already proposed on a lot of schemes, and are generally considered at the early stages of the design process, it has been made clear in the latest update that preference should be given to drainage schemes which meet the 4 pillars of SuDS design.
This means that any SuDS scheme for a proposed development should incorporate above‑ground SuDS features to provide water quality, biodiversity and amenity benefits as well as the required water quantity management.
Natural Flood Management techniques are encouraged where appropriate
The PPG states that regulatory authorities 'should make use as much as possible of opportunities presented by new development to reduce the causes and impacts of flooding, through the use of Natural Flood Management techniques'.
What this means in terms of a proposed development is that the Lead Local Flood Authority and/or Environment Agency could request that more Natural Flood Management (NFM) techniques are incorporated within a scheme. Examples of NFM include de‑culverting watercourses and restoring open channels through a site to emulate natural river functions, reducing impermeable coverage within a scheme to increase infiltration potential, and encouraging the incorporation of more tree planting to increase evapo‑transpiration, biodiversity and amenity.
Sequential and Exception Test guidance has been updated to consider all sources of flooding
Further guidance has been provided on how and when the Sequential and Exception Tests should be applied.
Within the new wording there is a focus on the need to consider current and future flood risk from all sources (including surface water), rather than just from rivers and seas.
The updated PPG recommends that any new development should follow a sequential approach and be ‘avoided, so far as possible, within the current and future medium and high flood risk areas considering all sources of flooding including areas at risk of surface water flooding’.
What this means in practical terms is that more sites will be flagged during the Sequential Test as all sources of flood risk now need to be considered.
With regards to the Exception Test, greater guidance has been provided on how it can be demonstrated that wider sustainability benefits to the community outweigh flood risk and how it can be shown that a development will reduce flood risk overall.
Notable other changes include:
Guidance on the need for other permits (under EPR) for SuDS
Encouragement to adopt a more holistic approach to surface water management. For examples it is suggested that surface water loadings on existing sewerage networks could be reduced by incorporating oversized on-site SuDS into the provision of area-wide strategic sustainable drainage systems.
Guidance on introducing new culverts to a site and building on top of existing culverts
The use of the Community Infrastructure Levy or Planning Obligations by the Local Planning Authority to fund area-wide flood management improvements and off-site Natural Flood Management techniques.
Updated information on Property Flood Resilience and the CIRIA Property Flood Resilience Code of Practice
Improved guidance on safeguarding land for future flood risk management infrastructure, the use of Shoreline Management Plans and Coastal Change Management Areas, and the need for coastal change vulnerability assessments
The Context: What is Planning Policy Guidance
Planning Practice Guidance (also referred to as PPG) is an online resource hub containing detailed policy guidance on a range of planning topics which expands on the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF). The PPG sets out how central government envisages the planning system in England to operate and is provided by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities and Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government.
Planning Practice Guidance is the overarching guidance for all developments in England and is positioned as follows in relation to other guidance and policy which you may encounter when working on developments or within the planning sector.
Planning Practice Guidance for Flood Risk and Coastal Change was originally published in March 2014 to advise Councils, developers and key stakeholders on how to take account of and address the risks associated with flooding and coastal change in the planning process.
On Thursday 25th August the Government published a major update to the Flood Risk and Coastal Change section of the PPG. According to the Government’s press release the aim of this update is to better protect new homes from flooding and:
Improve planning guidance to help councils consider future flood risk (including making sure that new developments meet strict criteria in locations at risk of flooding before they are approved)
Provide more support to ensure homes are built in low-risk areas with sustainable drainage
Help communities mitigate future impact of climate change
Next Steps:
If you would like to find out more about how these changes may affect your upcoming development, please get in touch with one of our team who would be happy to discuss further.