Flood Management - Planning Advice

Newcastle City Council is the Lead Local Flood Authority (LLFA).  The Flood Management Team act as the LLFA in its role as statutory consultee to the Local Planning Authority (LPA).  We assess flood risk and drainage elements of planning applications to ensure that there is no increase in flood risk and to provide environmental benefits through use of Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS).

On this page:

• Critical Drainage Area
• Pre-application
• Major Application
• Minor Application

Pre-application advice and LLFA 

The LPA and the LLFA always encourage applicants to apply for advice as this improves the chances of an application being successful at determination stage.

The LLFA will provide advice on your enquiry if it consists of:

•    Household Development (see below)
•    Major Development
•    Strategic Development
•    Change of use to a more vulnerable class
•    Any development within flood zones 2 and 3
•    A site area which exceeds 0.5ha in the Council’s Critical Drainage Area

The LLFA will: 

•    Include advice on flood management issues that could affect a site's development options;  
•    Advise on the scope of a flood risk assessment and any other information required to accompany an application;  
•    Provide design advice regarding SuDS measures appropriate for the development, reducing the likelihood of retrofitting or redesign.
•    Provide advice on adoption arrangements for SuDS/drainage features and any other long term management and maintenance issues  

In terms of the overall development, with the exception of householder applications, we are expecting as a minimum the following:

•    A clear, concise description of the works you propose;
•    A location plan, which identifies the site clearly, and marks the boundary in red (ideally at 1:1250 scale);
•    Existing and proposed plans showing the proposed development;
•    Existing and proposed draft/indicative site layout at an appropriate scale for the development;
•    Contact details for discussing the proposal and arrangements for site access if applicable

A draft Sustainable Drainage Plan for the site which identifies site constraints and opportunities and takes into account the national and regional guidance (see LASOO and SuDS guidance) should be provided for:

•    Major Development
•    Strategic Development
•    Change of use to a more vulnerable class (see NPPF guidance)
•    Any development within flood zones 2 and 3 (see flood maps)
•    Site area which exceeds 0.5ha in the Council’s Critical Drainage Area

Household Development: 

The LLFA may provide advice for applications in flood zone 2 or 3 where there are groundworks.
 

Guidance information and form to submit a Pre-Application are available from Pre-application advice for Planning

Please note, the LLFA have limited scope to review amendments to full applications once it is officially registered with the Local Planning Authority. The formal response of the LLFA regarding planning applications will be purely based on the information supplied on the application.

Advice for Major Development 

Major development should fulfil requirements set out in relevant planning policy and standards.  LLFA are consulted by the LPA when the application is

• Ten or more houses, flats, or other places where people live are to be built
• The number of homes is not provided in the application, and the site area is 0.5 hectares or more

For non-housing applications they are considered a major development if:

• The floorspace of the proposed building is 1,000 square metres or more
• The site area is one hectare or more

When developing a site layout and drainage strategy it helps to think about the following questions as early in the application process as possible:

• How does surface water flow naturally through the development
• What is the interaction between surface water and drainage?
• How does the development attenuate the surface water and not pass it onto another area?
• How does the development improve water quality?
• How does the development create biodiversity and habitat creation?
• How does the development provide amenity?

Further guidance on considerations for major outline and full planning applications can be found in Appendix B of the CIRIA SuDS Manual (C753) and the Regional Standards and Checklist.

A list of requirements for validation of major planning applications in relation to flood risk is provided by the LPA.

Minor Applications Advice

Minor Planning Advice (small housing improvements and 9 properties or less)

The LPA will only consult the LLFA if the application is within an area of flood risk or could potentially increase the flood risk outside of the applicant’s area.

If the development is 9 properties or less, or a small amendment to existing property the LLFA will be consulted for the following reasons:

• If the property is in Flood Zone 2 and 3
• The dwelling or dwellings are close to a watercourse, which could increase the flood risk to or offsite

In reviewing all applications LLFA look at the design of surface water proposals and physical measures to protect buildings and neighbours with a view to provide betterment for the developer and local area.   All applications are considered in line  with Guidance and Standards as follows:

• National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF)
• Core Strategy
• Development and Allocations Plan (DAP)
• Association of SuDS Authorities - non statutory technical standards for sustainable drainage
• Regional Standards and Checklist
• CIRIA SuDS Manual
• Planning Validation check list