Planning Policy and
Guidance on Flooding and
Coastal Erosion
James Hooker (MRTPI)
Senior Planning Manager
Welsh Government
RTPI Cymru - Water and Flooding Seminar
Tuesday 20th November 2012
Overview
 Planning Policy Wales
 TAN14: Coast
 TAN15: Flood Risk
DAM Maps
Zone C2
Zone C1 - Justification Test
Assessing Flood Consequence
Flooding Consequences
 Role of EAW & LPA
Responsibility
 Notification Direction
A bit late?
Planning Policy Wales
Chapter Five – Heritage & Coast
 [Coastal] areas subject to constraints
or considered unsuitable for
development may include those
where conservation or enhancement
of the natural and historic
environment requires development to
be limited, where visual intrusion will
need carefully to be considered and
where there may be risks of erosion,
flooding or land instability.
 options for coastal defence may
include a policy of managed set back
 Shoreline management plans will establish
long-term local policy frameworks for the
management of coastal risk. The priorities
contained within them should influence and
inform the preparation of development plans.
 Before major developments are permitted it
will be essential to demonstrate that a coastal
location is required. Where development is
considered to satisfy this test it should be
designed so as to be resilient to the effects
of climate change over its lifetime.
New coastal development should not
generally be permitted in areas which
would need expensive engineering
works, either to protect developments on
land subject to erosion by the sea or to
defend land which might be inundated
by the sea. There is also the need to
consider the possibility of such works
causing a transfer of risks to other areas,
bearing in mind also that erosion and the
risk of inundation are likely to be
exacerbated by climate change.
Chapter 13 – Minimising & Managing
Environmental Risks
How much water? – June 2012
panoramio.com
EA River Gauge –
River Leri nr Dolybont
Flood Risk
 Flood risk, whether inland or from the
sea, is a material consideration in land
use planning.
Local planning authorities should recognise that it
will be inappropriate to locate certain types of
development such as schools, hospitals, residential
development and emergency services within some
areas defined as being of high flood hazard. In such
areas, local planning authorities should ensure that
only appropriate land allocations are made during the
preparation of development plans.
 Government resources for
flood and coastal defence
projects are directed at
protecting ‘existing’
developments and are not
available to provide
defences in anticipation of
future development.
© Panarimo.com
 A sustainable approach to flooding will
therefore involve the avoidance of development
in flood hazard areas and, where possible or
practical, the encouragement of managed
retreat, the creation of wash-lands and flood
plain restoration.
TAN14 – Coastal Planning
 It is for each LPA to consider and define
the most appropriate coastal zone in its
area.
 Proposals for development need to
consider the potential need for remedial
and defence works and the likely effects
on physical & biological processes along
the coast.
 Development plan policies should not
provide for development on the coast
which does not require a coastal location.
TAN14 - continued

Policies will specifically be needed to control or
restrict development in: low lying coastal areas;
on land close to eroding cliffs or other eroding
coastline; and on land subject to instability.
Onus rests on the developer to provide sufficient
and appropriate information to demonstrate that
proposed sites can be safely developed without
significant adverse effects.
TAN15: Development & Flood Risk
Development Advice Maps (September 2009)
Based on EA’s flood maps, and identify the 0.1%
extreme flood risk area.
 0.1% flood outline is divided into two zones:
C1 – areas of the floodplain which are developed and
served by significant infrastructure, including flood
defences
C2 – areas of the floodplain without significant flood
defence infrastructure
Online Development Advice Maps
 DAM
maps are now available online at
http://data.wales.gov.uk/apps/floodmapping/
TAN15 – Zone C2
 Figure
1 (page 5) identifies that only less
vulnerable development should be considered
in Zone C2.
Section 6 identifies that “ In Zone C the tests
outlined in sections 6 & 7 will be applied,
recognising, however that highly vulnerable
development and Emergency Services in
Zone C2 should not be permitted”.
 Section
9 (Summary of Policy
Requirements) states in respect to Zone C2:
Developer 1
“The flooding consequences associated with
Emergency Services and highly vulnerable
Developer 2
development are not considered to be
acceptable. Plan allocations should not be
made for such development and planning
applications not proposed”.
Developer 3
TAN15 – Zone C1

Section 6 Justification Test
i) Local authority regeneration initiative or
stategy [development plan] required to
sustain an existing settlement, or,
ii) contribute to key employment objectives
supported by the local authority, and
other key partners to sustain an existing
settlement or region, and,
iii) concurs with the aims of PPW and meets
the definition of previously developed
land; and,
iv) Potential consequences of a flooding event
for the particular type of development have
been considered, and in terms of the criteria
contained in sections 5 and 7 and appendix 1
found to be acceptable.
TAN15 – Appendix 1
Assessing Flooding Consequences
A1.12 – A site should only be considered for
development if the following conditions can be
satisfied:
-Flood defences shown to be structurally
adequate under extreme overtopping
conditions
- Cost of future maintenance for all
new/approved mitigation measures must be
accepted by the developer and agreed with the
Environment Agency
- Developer must ensure that future occupiers
are aware of flooding risks and consequences
- Effective flood warnings are provided at the
site.
- Escape/Evacuation routes are shown be the
developer to be operational under all
conditions.
- Development is designed to minimise structural
damage during a flood event, and is flood
proofed to enable it to be returned to its prime
use quickly in the aftermath of the flood.
-No flooding elsewhere
Table A1:14 – Threshold for which
development should be designed to be
“flood free”.
Table A1:15 – Thresholds for residual
risk in extreme 0.1% flood event.
Role of EAW/ LPA responsibility
•EAW will provide technical advice on the
content of a flood consequence assessment.
•EAW may object where from a technical
perspective there is an unacceptable risk in flood
risk management terms.
•EAW will not comment on the acceptability of
emergency access and egress. Response letters
clearly state:
“Your Authority, in liaison with other appropriate
bodies, should ensure that you are satisfied with the
identified access/egress routes and their acceptability
for emergency access purposes”.
• LPA is therefore responsible for determining
that escape and evacuation routes are
shown by the developer to be operational
under all conditions.
Notification Direction
•New requirement for local planning
authorities to refer applications for
emergency services or highly vulnerable
development, where the whole of the
land where the development is proposed
to be located, is within flood zone C2,
shown on the development advice map
(DAM).
•In cases consisting of residential
development, the threshold for requiring
notification is set at 10 or more dwellings,
including flats.
Thank
you
Introductory Briefing:
Transport
www.wales.gov.uk
James Hooker
[email protected]