Strategic Flood Risk Assessment

We are required to carry out a Strategic Flood Risk Assessment (SFRA) for our area, which assesses the risk of flooding from all sources, now and in the future, taking account of the impacts of climate change.

The SFRA supports and informs the Local Plan, including the site allocations, by assessing the impact that land use changes and development in the area will have on flood risk. The SFRA provides the basis for applying the Sequential Test to development sites, thereby directing development away from areas at highest risk.

In September 2020 the Council updated its SFRA. The report, and the associated web-based mapping delivered as part of the SFRA, is designed to help address local requirements, manage development requirements, and manage the risk of flooding posed to both residents and buildings from the River Thames, its tributaries and other sources such as surface water.

This SFRA will be used to advise Development Management, Emergency Planners and developers on flood risk matters. Planning applicants should refer to the SFRA when carrying out a site-specific Flood Risk Assessment.

SFRA Report 

• Strategic Flood Risk Assessment - Level 1 Update (Updated 2020 with further minor updates in March 2021) (pdf, 1.3 MB)

Interactive maps

The following interactive maps have been developed to accompany the SFRA 2020. They are updated periodically.:

• Fluvial and Tidal Flood Risk
• Surface Water Flood Risk
• Groundwater, Sewer and Artificial Flood Risk
• Policy

Further details can be found in Sections 3 and 6 of the Report and in the Appendix.

If you experience any problem downloading any of the documents and/or navigating the interactive maps, please contact the Local Plan Team.

Updates

The Local Plan (2025) updated for the River Thames the functional floodplain definition of defining land riverward of tidal defences and mapping, consistent with the Planning Practice Guidance on Flood Risk and Coastal Change.  

The Flood Map for Planning published on 25 March 2025 includes a defended scenario for the 3.3% Annual Exceedance Probability (AEP) -1 in 30. The PPG states the functional floodplain will normally comprise this land. This dataset is designed only to give an indication of flood risk to an area, but it is available from DEFRA and it can be searched via the Environment Agency’s mapping Flood map for planning (GOV.UK) which allows a boundary report to be run for a property or area.  

The Local Plan (2025) also updated and/or defined town and local centre boundaries, which have been reflected in the 800m buffer boundary for the local Sequential Test. 

We will keep under review whether a further update to the SFRA should be undertaken, informed by any new mapping. 

The West London Communities Project is currently an early-stage study focused on understanding future flood risks in West London due to rising sea levels and climate change. It has been set up to investigate and deliver flood risk management measures to mitigate the change in risk in relation to the communities that will be impacted by the changes to Thames Barrier closures from 2035 onwards. 

Contact

If you would like more information, please contact Local Plan Team.

Email: LocalPlan@richmond.gov.uk