Development and flood risk management: PPS 25 and Practice Guide: Targeting delivery

Planning policy guidance on development and flood risk aims to ensure that flood risk is taken into account at all stages of the planning process to avoid inappropriate development in areas at risk of flooding and direct development away from those areas deemed high risk. 

Since PPG25 was published in July 2001 a number of development and flood risk issues have continued to evolve, including managing development in areas at risk of river flooding, risks from other forms of flooding, particularly flash floods, development behind existing defences, integrated urban drainage and SUDS.  A review in 2004 showed that PPG25 had succeeded in raising the profile of flooding matters in the planning process and its core policies remained valid, but that more needed to be done to implement them fully. 

The new PPS25, which strengthens and clarifies planning policy on development and flood risk to ensure flood risk is taken into account at all stages in the planning process, avoid inappropriate development in areas at risk of flooding, and direct development away from areas at highest risk is due for implementation shortly. To help with the implementation of the planning policy contained in them, ODPM will publish practice guidance on how to apply the policy in practical terms.

The Practice Guide will aim to give help in how to apply the policy, with examples. Getting planners and other stakeholders to apply the policy in PPS25 is a key challenge and the Practice Guide is critical to delivering the PPS25 policies in practice.  In developing the Practice Guide, the key issues ODPM are interested in, set out in Section 3 of the PPS25 consultation document, are:

Flood risk assessments at regional, local and site levels; Operating the sequential test and exception test; Identifying and using opportunities for reducing flood risk; Managing surface water; and Managing residual risk. 

The conference will look at PPS25, the key points, Identifying and using opportunities for reducing flood risk (& flood risk assessments), managing risk and an introduction to the practice guide. 

Agenda

Registration: 11.30am
Seminar: 12.00pm – 2.00pm