Flooding in

England:
A National Assessment of Flood Risk
We are the Environment Agency. It’s our job to look after your
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Foreword
I’m very pleased to introduce the Environment Agency’s first national assessment of flood risk for England.
This is a major piece of work that brings together our latest scientific and engineering knowledge to describe
clearly the risks of flooding from rivers and the sea. It underpins our future plans for investment in flood risk
management as well as helping us to work together with our partners to protect the public and property from
floods more effectively.
The events of the summer of 2007 demonstrated the major impacts floods can have. They also showed the
importance of understanding the flood risks we face nationally so that we can be better prepared to face future
risks. In all, around 5.2 million properties in England, or one in six properties, are at risk of flooding. More than 5
million people live and work in 2.4 million properties that are at risk of flooding from rivers or the sea, one million
of which are also at risk of surface water flooding. A further 2.8 million properties are susceptible to surface water
flooding alone.
The scale of the challenge we face in managing these risks may be daunting, but this report means that the
Environment Agency and the organisations and people we work with can meet it more effectively. We must also
make sure we build a better relationship between those at risk and those who manage this risk. Much more can
be achieved by bringing all the interested parties together through the Environment Agency’s strategic overview
of all sources of flooding with a shared understanding of the risks.
While celebrating the advances that this report provides, it is important to remember that the technology and
skills available to map and measure risk are still developing. Rising sea levels and increasingly severe and
frequent rainstorms caused by climate change mean that the risk of flooding will increase. This assessment is
one step in an ongoing journey that we must take to ensure that our understanding of the risks keeps pace with
these changes. It will be regularly updated, improved and published to keep you informed and to help us work
together to manage floods.

Paul Leinster
Chief Executive of The Environment Agency

Environment Agency Flood and coastal risk management in England 3

Contents

Summary – National Assessment of Flood Risk 5

1.0 Introduction 7

2.0 Managing the risks of flooding 9

2.1 Strategy and policy framework 9

2.1.1 Strategy and policy 10
2.1.2 Responsibilities 12

Flood risk assessment - understanding the risks 13

2.2 Planning and development – living out of harm’s way 13

2.2.1 Development 13
2.2.2 Existing communities 15
2.3 Protecting communities in the floodplain – flood defences 15
2.4 Defending individual properties – resistance and resilience 17
2.5 Protecting important national infrastructure and keeping essential services running 17
2.6 Flood forecasting and warnings 19
2.6.1 Detecting and forecasting floods 19
2.6.2 Warning and communicating about floods 20
2.7 Flood response and recovery 21
2.8 Insurance – spreading risk and recovering quickly 22
2.9 Funding to support flood risk management 22

3.0 Who remains at risk of flooding? 24

3.1 The National flood risk assessment 24
3.2 Regional and local flood risk 28

4.0 Catchment flood management plans 31

5.0 Investing for the future 32

Summary –
National assessment of flood risk
Introduction
The Environment Agency plays a central role in managing flood risk from rivers and the sea. We have the strategic
overview role for flood risk management from all causes of flooding, including rivers, the sea, groundwater,
reservoirs and surface water. This report explains how we tackle the risk of flooding in England, looking mainly at
flooding from rivers and the sea.

Flooding is a part of nature. It is neither technically feasible nor economically affordable to prevent all properties
from flooding. The Envrionment Agency’s aim is to reduce flood risk and minimise the harm caused by flooding.
We take a risk-based approach to achieve the best results possible using the budget and resources available. We
are working to reduce both the likelihood of flooding and the impacts of a flood when it happens.

Managing the risks of flooding

Investment
Government recognises that it is important to invest in flood risk and coastal management and has committed to
increase public spending on it from £600 million in 2007-2008 to £800 million in 2010-2011.X
A main part of the Environment Agency’s role is to improve and keep in good order over 25,400 miles of flood
defences that help to reduce flood risk from rivers and the sea in England. In 2008-2009 we spent approximately
two thirds of our flood risk management budget, £427 million, on building, improving and keeping flood defences
such as managed river channels, walls and raised embankments, flood barriers and pumps in good condition.
This investment provides tangible benefits. Between 2003-2004 and 2007-2008, improvements by the
Environment Agency, local authorities and Internal Drainage Boards reduced the risk of flooding to over 176,000
households, and of these, 156,000 are attributable to the Environment Agency’s flood defence improvements.
Investment in flood risk management represents good value for money. Most new flood defence schemes now
built reduce expected damage by at least £8 for every £1 spent, significantly above the 5 to 1 target set by
central government.

Development control
Locating property outside the floodplain is a prime way to reduce flood risk. If this is not practical, siting new
buildings in areas of lowest risk is the next choice. Local planning authorities must now consult the Environment
Agency on planning applications where the proposed development is at risk from flooding or is likely to increase
the risk of flooding elsewhere.
The latest figures for 2007-2008 show that the Environment Agency’s advice is, in the main, accepted. In cases
where we objected on flood risk grounds, and where local planning authorities have advised us of the final
decision, fewer than four per cent of these applications have gone ahead against our advice.

Warning and prepardness

Ensuring the emergency services and the public know where and when it will flood, and how serious the
flooding is likely to be, is a complex task. The Environment Agency has increased the number of households and
businesses offered a flood warning service. We have also launched a new National Flood Forecasting Centre with
the Met Office that will allow us to better predict the scale and timing of flooding events and monitor them as they
happen. This will ensure that the emergency services and other local responders focus their efforts where the
imminent risks are greatest – a difference that could save lives.
(£20m of investment originally budgeted for 2010-2011 was bought forward into 2009-2010 to provide an early start to projects that will benefit 27,000 homes when completed)
X

Environment Agency Flood and coastal risk management in England 5

In 2008-2009, 55 per cent of people living in flood risk areas knew they were at risk and, of these, three out of
five had taken some action to prepare for a flood. This may have involved checking their insurance, signing up to
the Environment Agency’s flood warning service, or installing flood resistance and resilience measures.

Who remains at risk of flooding

The Environment Agency’s 2008 National Flood Risk Assessment shows there are 2.4 million properties at risk of
flooding from rivers and the sea in England. Our preliminary assessment of surface water flood risk also suggests
that one million of these are also susceptible to surface water flooding with a further 2.8 million properties
susceptible to surface water flooding alone. In all, around 5.2 million properties in England, or one in six
properties, are at risk of flooding. The expected annual damages to residential and non-residential properties in
England at risk of flooding from rivers and the sea is estimated at more than £1 billion.
Floods can cause serious indirect impacts, including damage to important energy, water, communications and
transport infrastructure. They can also interfere with basic public services such as schools and hospitals.
The National Flood Risk Assessment shows that a sizeable part of our important infrastructure and public services
are in flood risk areas. This is especially so for water-related infrastructure that needs to be near rivers. For
example, over 55 per cent of water and sewage pumping stations/treatment works are in flood risk areas, with 34
per cent at significant risk.

Protecting communities at risk

In consultation with many local organisations and groups the Environment Agency has produced Catchment Flood
Management Plans (CFMPs) covering the main 68 catchments in England. These documents set out the strategic
context for managing flood risk in a catchment, helping decision makers by identifying the policy options
being adopted to manage flood risks. They also help form the position we take in our work to manage assets,
watercourses, flood forecasting, and to help land use planning and development.
The CFMPs aim to promote the most effective approaches to managing flood risk, investing time and money to
best effect. Even where it is not affordable or sustainable to maintain defence structures CFMPs should set out
other ways of managing risk. Where possible we also aim to work with nature in reducing flood risk, allowing
floodplains and river corridors to return to their natural condition. This improves habitat for wildlife, increasing,
conserving and protecting areas like wetlands and salt marshes.

Investing for the future

It is likely that with climate change (which could lead to increased rainfall, river flows, and higher coastal storm
surges) and development pressures, flood risk in England is going to increase in the future, with potentially the
most significant changes likely to happen in the latter half of the century.
The Environment Agency has prepared a Long-term investment strategy that will allow us to understand future
levels of risk and what investment may be needed to manage it over the next 25 years and beyond. The intention
is that it will inform a public debate on how society should manage flood and coastal risk.

6 Environment Agency Flood and coastal risk management in England

1. Introduction
The Environment Agency is the lead organisation for providing flood and coastal risk management and warnings
of flooding from main rivers and on the coast. We are responsible for the strategic overview for all sources of
flooding. This means we will advise and bring together the planning and management of flood risk from rivers,
the sea, groundwater, reservoirs and surface water. Many different public and private bodies are involved
in managing flood and coastal erosion risk, each accountable for different aspects of risk management. The
Environment Agency’s challenge is to help bodies such as local authorities, internal drainage boards, the
Highways Agency and utility companies work together with us to achieve the Government’s ‘outcome measures’
(see Table one on page 10).
This report sets out the main findings of the 2008 National Flood Risk Assessment and places particular emphasis
on the role played by the Environment Agency in tackling the risk of flooding from rivers and the sea in England.

1.1. The causes of flooding

In England, the most common forms of floods are:
• River flooding that occurs when a watercourse cannot cope with the water draining into it from the
surrounding land. This can happen, for example, when heavy rain falls on an already waterlogged catchment.
• Coastal flooding that results from a combination of high tides and stormy conditions. If low atmospheric
pressure coincides with a high tide, a tidal surge may happen which can cause serious flooding.
• Surface water flooding which occurs when heavy rainfall overwhelms the drainage capacity of the local area.
It is difficult to predict and pinpoint, much more so than river or coastal flooding.
• Sewer flooding that occurs when sewers are overwhelmed by heavy rainfall or when they become blocked.
The likelihood of flooding depends on the capacity of the local sewerage system. Land and property can
be flooded with water contaminated with raw sewage as a result. Rivers can also become polluted by
sewer overflows.
• Groundwater flooding that occurs when water levels in the ground rise above surface levels. It is most likely
to occur in areas underlain by permeable rocks, called aquifers. These can be extensive, regional aquifers,
such as chalk or sandstone, or may be more local sand or river gravels in valley bottoms underlain by less
permeable rocks.

1.2. A risk-based approach to managing floods

Floods are part of nature. It is not technically feasible nor economically affordable to prevent all properties from
flooding. Therefore a risk-based approach is taken to achieve the best results possible using the budget and
resources available. As almost all of the Environment Agency’s funding has historically come from the taxpayer,
we have a responsibility to ensure we achieve as much benefit as possible from the funds provided. These
include benefits for people, the economy and the environment and all are valued when we identify the need
for investment in flood risk management. The balance of priorities within the programme is determined by the
‘outcome measures’ announced by Defra in 2008 (see Table one below).
Our aim is to minimise the harm caused by flooding. This involves reducing the likelihood of flooding and
reducing the impacts when flooding occurs. At the same time there are underlying pressures that are increasing
risk, such as climate change, housing development or changes in land use. Sometimes we can affect these
drivers, for example by influencing planning and land development. There are, however, other drivers that are
beyond our direct influence, such as climate change impacts on the weather and sea level rise. Figure one shows
some of the things that can change the risk of flooding.

Environment Agency Flood and coastal risk management in England 7

Figure one: Managing flood risk – addressing likelihood and impacts

• More severe floods due to

climate change
• Damage to higher value
property and contents
• Loss of insurance cover
• New development in high
flood risk areas
• Reduction in property value

More serious
of flooding
• New, improved and well impacts • More frequent and more
severe extreme weather
Current
maintained defences
• Steer development away from • Deterioration of defences
high flood risk areas Lower likelihood Higher likelihood • ‘Hardening” of surfaces due
• Diverting flood water to
unpopulated land
of flooding
flood risk of flooding to development
• Deforestation and loss of
• Better land management vegetation cover
• Soil degradation
Less serious
of flooding
impacts

• Good flood forecasts and

widely received warnings
• Improved property‐level
protection
• Effective preparation and
emergency response
• Help with recovery

8 Environment Agency Flood and coastal risk management in England

2. Managing the risks of flooding
The risk of flooding is a product of both the flood event itself and the vulnerability of the person, property or
environment exposed to the event. The Environment Agency want to reduce the likelihood and the effects of
flooding and our 2009-2015 strategy for managing flood risk is currently under development and will include:
• A policy framework that sets principles, objectives and responsibilities.
• Flood risk assessment and flood mapping to understand which places are most at risk and in
what circumstances.
• Development control through the planning system to prevent and reduce the risk to new developments and
to ensure development in one place does not cause problems in another.
• Constructing and maintaining flood defences and other techniques for controlling or containing the flow of
water from entering an area.
• Protective measures at individual properties to keep water from entering them, and to reduce the damage if
water does enter.
• Protecting of important infrastructure to avoid any secondary impacts associated with flooding including loss
of energy, water, telecoms, transport and other public services.
• An early warning system that forecasts floods and provides personalised warning information in the best
way, for example, using the internet, telephones, and television and radio broadcasts.
• A well-prepared emergency response to help people in danger and protect as many properties as possible
from flooding.
• Strong and reliable insurance to spread risks and ensure coverage to as many properties as possible, so
householders and business owners can recover quickly.
• Help with clean-up and recovery.
• Funding to support the flood risk management strategy.

Following the Pitt Review of the 2007 floods, the Government has given the Environment Agency a strategic
overview role:1
The Environment Agency will have a new strategic overview role for all forms of flood risk, including groundwater
and surface water for which no body has previously been clearly responsible. The Environment Agency will
lead and co-ordinate the planning and management of all sources of flood risk while retaining operational
responsibility for main rivers and coastal flooding. The Environment Agency will work closely with local authorities
on their on-the-ground management of surface water flooding so comprehensive assessments of local flood risk
will be possible for the first time.
The rest of Section two gives an overview of the approach to flood risk management outlined above.

2.1 Strategy and policy framework

There is a hierarchy of strategic documents, varying in detail and geographical scale, which define the overall
response to flooding. We describe these briefly in the following paragraphs.

Environment Agency Flood and coastal risk management in England 9

2.1.1 Strategy and policy
Government strategy
Making space for water (2005) sets out the cross-government, overarching strategy for flood and coastal erosion
risk management in England.
The Government’s strategy has continued to evolve and broaden. For example:
• The Climate Change Act (2008) requires a UK-wide climate change risk assessment every five years
accompanied by a national adaptation programme that is also reviewed every five years. The Act has given
the Government new powers to require public bodies and statutory organisations such as water companies
to report on how they are adapting to climate change.
• Future Water (2008) The Government’s overall strategy for water looks mainly at water supply and provision.
It reaffirms Making space for water as the basis for managing river and coastal flooding. However, it also sets
out a vision for better management of surface water to address the dual pressures of climate change and
housing development.
• The Pitt Review (2008) following the 2007 floods made 92 recommendations.2 The Government supports
changes that will help achieve them all.3 In particular, there is now increasing attention paid to surface
water flooding, a main cause of damage in the 2007 floods. The new Floods and Water Management Bill,
published in April 2008 for public consultation and pre-legislative scrutiny, will provide the legislation
needed to carry out further work in this area.

Flood risk management outcome measures

The Government sets outcome measures4 for the Environment Agency and other operating authorities that work
with us to manage flood risk. These form the basis by which we set priorities for investment decisions. The five
outcome measures are used to develop new flood and coastal erosion risk management schemes and these
appear in table one. The targets show what the capital programme – that is, spending on flood defence upkeep
and improvement projects – is expected to contribute to these measures over the period 2008-2009 to 2010-
2011. There are a further four outcome measures that have set, or are developing, targets for the Environment
Agency on flood warning, contingency planning, preventing inappropriate development and long term policies
and action plans.

10 Environment Agency Flood and coastal risk management in England

Table one: Government outcome measures for the Environment Agency and other Operating Authorities

Outcome measures for

Definition Minimum target
2008-2009 to 2010-2011

Average benefit cost ratio across

the capital programme based on the Five to one average with all projects
Economic benefits present value whole life costs and having a benefit cost ratio strongly
benefits of projects completed in the greater than one.
period 2008-2009 to 2010-2011.

Number of households with increased

145,000 households of which 45,000
Households protected standard of protection against flooding
are at significant or greater flood risk.
or coastal erosion risk.

Number of households in the 20 per

cent most deprived areas for which 9,000 of the 45,000
Deprived households at risk
the likelihood of flooding reduces from households above.
significant or greater risk.

Hectares of SSSI land where there is

Nationally important a programme of measures in place,
24,000 hectares.
wildlife sites agreed with Natural England, to reach
target condition by 2010.

Hectares of priority Biodiversity Action

UK Biodiversity Action 800 hectares of which at least 300
Plan habitat including intertidal,
Plan habitats hectares should be intertidal.
created by March 2011.

European policy
European Union Directives, including the Water Framework Directive (2000/60/EC) and Floods Directive
(2007/60/EC), require consolidated river basin management planning, assessment and mapping of hazards and
risks, and preparation and use of flood risk management plans. The frameworks set out in the directives closely
match those already applied in the UK.

Development control strategy

Planning Policy Statement 25: Development and Flood Risk (2006) sets out the Government’s approach to the
use of the planning system to reduce flood risk. Under this guidance, Regional Strategies and Local Development
Frameworks must include and account for flood risk. These are the core planning documents for regional
bodies and local authorities respectively. Local authorities have a duty to carry out, with the Environment
Agency, a Strategic Flood Risk Assessment. This forms part of the evidence base that contributes to Local
Development Frameworks.

Local flood management strategy

Catchment Flood Management Plans (CFMPs), the Environment Agency will produce CFMPs for 68 main
catchments in England during 2009. They are high-level planning tools and set out objectives for flood risk
management across each river catchment and estuary. They also identify flood risk management policies that are
economically practical, have a potential life of 50 to 100 years, and will help us work with others to put them in
place. The CFMPs consider inland flood risk from rivers, surface water, groundwater and tidal flooding but do not
cover sewer flooding. However, at present our understanding of river and tidal flooding is stronger than that from
other sources.
Shoreline Management Plans (SMP) are mainly produced by coastal groups/local authorities and perform a
similar role to CFMPs but examine coastal flooding and erosion risks. SMPs cover the entire coastline. These are
under review, with second generation SMPs due for completion by 2010.

Environment Agency Flood and coastal risk management in England 11

2.1.2 Responsibilities
Many bodies and agencies have responsibilities to help tackle the risk of flooding. These are some of the
organisations involved:

Table two: organisations responsible for flood risk management

Defra has national policy responsibility for flood and coastal erosion
Department for Environment
risk management and provides funding through grants to the
Food and Rural Affairs (Defra)
Environment Agency.

The Environment Agency is the principal flood risk management

authority in England and Wales. It is responsible for forecasting and
mapping flood risk, providing warnings, advising on development
Environment Agency in the floodplain, building and keeping defences in good order and
taking part in emergency planning and response. The Environment
Agency manages central government grants for capital projects
carried out by local authorities and internal drainage boards.

Local authorities lead in reducing risks from development in the

floodplain and management of drainage and small watercourses.
They will play an increasingly important role in helping to manage
Local authorities
the risks associated with surface water flooding. They also take the
lead in emergency planning for flooding and handling the recovery of
areas that have been effected by flooding.

IDBs are independent bodies responsible for land drainage in areas

Internal drainage
of special drainage need. These are mostly low-lying areas that need
boards (IDBs)
active management of water levels.

RFDCs have a duty to take an interest in all flood matters in

Regional flood defence their area. They are responsible for decisions about the annual
committees (RFDCs) programmes of improvement and maintenance work carried out by
the Environment Agency.

These are the local planning forums for all emergencies, including
flooding. They bring together the emergency services, Environment
Local resilience forums (LRFs) Agency, NHS and other bodies like water and energy companies.
Together they plan for prevention, control and reducing the impact of
floods on the public.

The Association of British Insurers (ABI) and its members is vital in

providing cover and handling claims for damages caused by a flood.
Under an agreement with the Government, they have committed
Insurance industry
to continue insurance coverage for most properties, even some at
significant risk, in return for action by government to identify and
manage risks.

A registered charity providing advice to those at risk and

National Flood Forum
campaigning for better protection from flooding.

12 Environment Agency Flood and coastal risk management in England

Flood risk assessment - understanding the risks
Assessing and mapping flood risk is a complex skill. Over many years the Environment Agency has developed
increasing understanding of where and when flooding could happen and how serious it might be. Such
assessments are a crucial undertaking on which all the other measures depend. They involve modelling the
behaviour of the sea and river basins in different weather and tidal conditions, and matching this to knowledge of
land topography to see where floods are likely to arise and how often.
There are two main mapping approaches covering flooding from rivers and the sea:
• The Flood Map is for use by property owners and local authorities and shows where floods may occur and
how severe they could be. It is a map of natural floodplains showing areas that could flood if no defence
structures were in place. It uses the same risk categories as local authorities and its data contributes to local
planning authority decisions. It also helps property owners recognise risks and prepare for floods. The Flood
Map is available from our web site. Users enter a postcode to see the area of the Flood Map in which they
have an interest.
• The National Flood Risk Assessment presents risk and vulnerability in greater detail. It differs from the flood
map because it considers the impact of flood defence structures and other measures that reduce risk. Its
purpose is to contribute to flood risk management policy and investment priorities, and to help insurers in
setting risk-based premiums and excesses.

Our approach to flood risk mapping is constantly improving as we develop our knowledge and technical
capacities. We have produced initial maps of areas susceptible to surface water flooding and provided this to
LRFs. The accuracy of these is being developing and they are not yet suitable for a house by house assessment of
risk. These will provide further help to local authorities with emergency planning and in their new local flood risk
leadership role, including action to tackle surface water risks.

2.2 Planning and development – living out of harm’s way

2.2.1 Development
Building property and putting other assets away from the floodplain is the best way to reduce risk. If this is
not possible then development should take place in areas of low flood risk. The Government’s Planning Policy
Statement 25 (PPS 25)5 requires that flood risk be a consideration at all stages of a planning application. This
will help avoid development in areas at risk of flooding, and discourage building in areas of highest risk. In
exceptional circumstances, where development is necessary in such areas, the policy aims to ensure that it is
safe, to reduce the risk and to avoid displacing flood risk to other areas.
Local planning authorities in England must consult the Environment Agency on planning applications where the
property is at any risk from flooding. Developers must also produce a Flood Risk Assessment (FRA) to show their
development proposals comply with planning policy on flooding. The Environment Agency provides technical
advice to local planning authorities and developers on how best to avoid, manage and reduce the adverse
impacts of flooding. We may also object to planning applications that are inconsistent with government policy,
where the flood risk assessment is inadequate or if the tests to see if a development is acceptable have not
been carried out correctly. Local authorities have to balance many development objectives and pressures, and
can sometimes reject Environment Agency advice. In cases where planning authorities choose to grant planning
permission for big developments against our recommendations, the Secretary of State will have notice of this and
may ‘call-in’ the decision. The Association of British Insurers has said that its members will not necessarily offer
to insure new properties sited in areas of flood risk.
Figure two shows that around two-thirds of our objections to planning applications arise from an inadequate
or absent FRA. These are necessary to ensure proper consideration of flood risks before any development
takes place in the floodplain. However, if local planning authorities and applicants use the standard planning
application form, the checklists and PPS25 Practice Guide, all introduced in 2008, the number of planning
applications with good-quality FRAs should increase.

Environment Agency Flood and coastal risk management in England 13

 Figure two: Sustained objections to planning applications on the basis of a lack of a satisfactory FRA

80%

70%
% of total sustained objections

60%

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

0%
2001/02 2002/03 2003/04 2004/05 2005/06 2006/07 2007/08

Monitoring period

Lack of, or unsatisfactory FRA Unsatisfactory FRA Lack of a FRA

If we are to prevent inappropriate development in flood risk areas we must give the highest quality technical
advice to local authorities. Our success in this is partially measured through Government’s ‘High-Level Target 5’
which records how many times local planning authorities accept or reject our objections.
The latest figures for 2007-2008 show the impact of our advice. In cases where the Environment Agency objected
on flood risk grounds, and where local planning authorities advised us of the result, less than four per cent of
applications gained approval. This was usually because developers agreed to changes in their proposals, they
withdrew their application, or there was a refusal of planning permission from the local planning authority. Only
15 big developments gained approval against our advice. There are still too many applications where we object
but do not receive notice of the eventual decision. However, independent research shows there is no difference
in the results of those cases where local planning authorities report their decisions to the Environment Agency,
compared with cases where they do not.

Figure three: Resolution of Environment Agency flood risk planning objections in England 2007-2008

8,000

2,543 6,232
Number of planning applications

6,000

4,000 2,394

Withdrawn

2,000 Amended
1,140
123 of which Amended
15 were major Rejected
developments 32
0
Approved against Referred to Local Authority Developer action Environment Environment
Environment Secretary of State action Agency not notified Agency flood risk
Agency advice of outcome objections

14 Environment Agency Flood and coastal risk management in England

2.2.2 Existing communities
Though the Environment Agency can influence the planning process and work to stop developers building
inappropriate properties in risk areas in the future, it must be remembered that there are some 2.4 million
properties already built in the floodplain.
Sometimes, natural events such as coastal erosion or sea level rise increase the risk of flooding to a point where
it is technically impossible or financially impractical to continue a policy of defence. The Environment Agency and
local government must then make difficult economic judgements as we both have a duty to achieve the maximum
benefit to society and we may achieve more by defending properties elsewhere. These difficult decisions
sometimes call for carefully managed realignment of the coast and floodplain to reflect the natural changes that
happen over time. The long-term planning framework set out in catchment flood management plans and shoreline
management plans will help with this.

2.3 Protecting communities in the floodplain – flood defences

One of the Environment Agency’s main roles is to build, improve and keep flood defences such as maintained
river channels, raised embankments, floodwalls and culverts in good order to reduce flood risk from rivers
and the sea. This work consumes the largest share of our budget by far. We also build and keep in good order
sluices, outfalls, floodgates pumps and barriers, such as the Thames Barrier. These reduce flood risk and manage
water levels.
The Environment Agency is responsible for some 25,400 miles of flood defences and about 36,000 sluices,
outfalls, floodgates and barriers in England. Using the average cost of building each of the different defences, and
applying these to our database of flood defence structures, we estimate replacing all defences that we maintain
would cost over £20 billion.
We spend most of our budget on improving flood defences and keeping them in good order. In 2008-2009
we spent £427 million on this. This was 65 per cent of our flood and coastal risk management budget. This
investment gives tangible benefits. Between 2003-2004 and 2007-2008, improvements achieved by us, local
authorities and Internal Drainage Boards reduced the risk of flooding to more than 176,000 households. Of these,
156,000 are attributable to the Environment Agency’s own flood defence improvements.

Figure four: Cumulative number of households benefiting from reduced likelihood of flooding
since 2003-2004 (England)

450000 Cumulative households 1800

Cumulative expenditure
400000 1600
Total capital expenditure since 2003
on improvements programme
Total number of households

350000 1400
with improved protection

300000 1200

250000 1000

200000 800

150000 600

100000 400

50000 200

0 0
2003-04 2004-05 2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11

Environment Agency Flood and coastal risk management in England 15

 We are planning to increase spending by 20 per cent in real terms by 2010-2011 to improve flood defences and
keep them in good working order.6
The large base of flood defence assets needs continuous maintenance, and this is the second largest call on
our budget after our work to improve assets. We routinely carry out visual inspections of all river and coastal
flood defences using a risk-based priority programme, assessing their condition and identifying any causes for
concern. We give each asset a grade: very good, good, fair, poor or very poor. Based on what defence it is, and the
impact of flooding and the visual condition, we decide if a defence is in a satisfactory state, or if it needs further
investigation or improvement.
The Environment Agency’s work aims to ensure that 95 per cent of our assets perform as designed during a
flood event.

Figure five: Condition of linear defences

60%

50%
Length of defences

40%

30%

20%

10%

0%
Very good Good Fair Poor Very poor
Asset condition grade
Source: Environment Agency, (England and Wales February 2009).

Table three: Flood risk management asset condition (England and Wales, December 2008)

Structures such as pumping

Percentage of assets that Defences such as flood walls
stations, barriers, sluices
perform as designed and embankments
and outfalls

Upkeep by
95 96.4
Environment Agency

Upkeep by third party 87.2 96.5

All assets 92 96.4

16 Environment Agency Flood and coastal risk management in England

Summer 2007 put our flood defences to the test. Despite facing some of the biggest downpours ever recorded
in many parts of the country, 99.8 per cent of our flood defences performed as designed. We estimate that they
protected more than 100,000 properties from flooding. Our experience is that fewer than one per cent of the
impacts from flooding result from failure of flood defences.
Following the 2007 review by the National Audit Office and Public Accounts Committee7, we are making the
following improvements to how we manage flood defences:
• Our asset management planning is helping to set priorities for spending on the highest flood risk areas.
This planning will detail the full cost, both now and in the future of the building, running, upkeep and
replacement of flood defences. It will also set out the benefits of having the defences and reducing the
damage from flooding.
• We have prepared a new Long-term investment strategy to make the best use of funds, and to ensure
success in meeting the objectives for flood risk management investment.
We are continuously updating and improving our database of flood defences and their condition. This is helping
us target investment more precisely to where there is most need.

2.4 Defending individual properties – resistance and resilience

It is impossible and impractical to reduce all flood risk, or to defend against all possible floods in all places.
However, it is possible to reduce the impact of a flood at the individual property level through flood resistance
and resilience measures. Flood resistance measures, such as door guards, help prevent floodwater getting into
a property. Resilience measures are those that minimise the damage when floodwater is in a property. A typical
example is water resistant wall plaster.
The cost of damage to property as a result of a flood can be great. According to a report prepared for Defra,
repairing a house after a flood can cost between £10,000 and £50,000 depending on the flood depth.8 Defra also
found the costs of applying resistance measures, such as waterproof doors, windows and airbricks, can range
between £3,000 and £10,000 for a whole house. While the cost of such measures can appear expensive, some
may not cost more than the standard repairs and are likely to pay for themselves after a single flood event.
The Environment Agency provides advice to property owners on how to prepare for a flood and are developing
additional guidance about self-help home protection measures for householders, businesses and the building
contractors that fit them. The National Flood Forum, a registered charity, provides information on products and
techniques for protecting individual properties. The Association of British Insurers also encourages improved
property level protection.9 Some insurers already include flood risk information with renewal notices. This is
expected to become increasingly widespread as we continue to refine flood risk mapping, identifying vulnerable
properties with greater accuracy.

2.5 Protecting important national infrastructure and keeping

essential services running
Floods can cause serious indirect impacts, including damage to important energy, water, communication and
transport infrastructure. They can also interfere with basic public services such as schools and hospitals. For
example, the 2007 floods disabled major infrastructure in Gloucestershire. Flooding at Tewkesbury’s Mythe water
treatment works left 140,000 homes without clean water for up to 17 days. It was also necessary to shut down
Castle Meads electricity sub-station, leaving 42,000 people without power in Gloucester for 24 hours. Flooding
on the M5 motorway trapped 10,000 people, with many others stranded on the rail network. A big effort to set
up temporary flood defences at Walham electricity substation saved the power supply to 500,000 people in
Gloucestershire and South Wales.10 Other vulnerable infrastructure includes emergency service stations and
headquarters, which may also be part of the response, and important public services such as hospitals, schools
and care homes.

Environment Agency Flood and coastal risk management in England 17

The 2008 National Flood Risk Assessment which provides the information in this report, identifies the number
and types of important infrastructure and public services in flood risk areas. Water-related infrastructure like
treatment works need to be close to rivers as their running depends on them. As a result, a high percentage of
water company plant is in flood risk areas. For example, more than 900 pumping stations and treatment works,
over half of those in England, are in flood risk areas.
Other types of important national infrastructure are also at risk. About 7,000 electricity infrastructure sites, some
14 per cent of all in England, are at flood risk. In addition, about 10 per cent of main roads and 21 per cent of
railways are at risk. It is important to assess the potential impact of flooding on these infrastructure sites. A
loss of, or interference in, basic services may affect a wide area where many people also face the clean-up and
recovery from a flood.

Figure six: National infrastructure assets in flood risk areas.

Transport and utilities infrastructure

Electricity infrastructure 14% of total in England

Major roads 10%

Railways 20%
Water pumping stations / 55%
treatment works
Gas infrastructure 28%
0 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000 6000 7000 8000
Number of national infrastructure assets in the flood plain

Significant chance Moderate chance Low chance

Other services

Police / Fire / Ambulance stations 13% of total in England

Campsite and Caravan park 30%

Community / Leisure centres 10%

Surgeries / Health centres 9%

Schools and day nurseries 7%

Communication stations 10%

Hospitals 7%

Prisons 13%
0 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000
Number of buildings in the flood plain

Significant chance Moderate chance Low chance

18 Environment Agency Flood and coastal risk management in England

Local resilience forums (LRFs) perform the basic co-ordinating role at local level for preparing for emergencies,
including flooding. The Environment Agency works with LRFs and emergency services to help protect important
infrastructure and utility supplies. We are also providing a warning service to infrastructure operators through
Floodline Warnings Direct.
Both economic regulators in the water and energy industries, OFWAT and OFGEM, are responding to the problem
of defending important infrastructure. They are considering how to finance further investment in protecting this
infrastructure through the pricing reviews that allow the recovery of costs through customer bills.

2.6 Flood forecasting and warnings

Ensuring the emergency services and the public know where and when it will flood and how serious the flooding
will be is a complicated task. Often the first step is linking a weather forecast to a model of how a river basin
or coastal system behaves during flood conditions. This helps set out the scale, timing and location of the
anticipated flood risk. We then issue a warning to people at risk with sound, specific information about what
they should expect. All this needs to happen quickly and in a way that allows the emergency, utility and essential
public services to prepare, and that gives people enough time to protect themselves, their family and their
homes. There is a balance to strike between the need to provide advice and warnings in good time, and the risk
that false alarms will lead to loss of confidence in the system.
We provide advice to different audiences: to householders, businesses, public services, electricity and water
companies, transport operators and to those involved in responding to a flood. Each audience has different
needs and our communications must provide the information that will help them take the right actions at the
right time.

2.6.1 Detecting and forecasting floods

The Environment Agency is constantly developing tools to make flood forecasting more accurate and detailed.
The Met Office uses large and complex computer models of the atmosphere to help predict rainfall amounts and
the scale of tidal surges. With the Met Office, we have developed a joint national Flood Forecasting Centre that
brings together highly skilled hydrologists and meteorologists into one team that can give much better unified
forecasts. Information provided by the Flood Forecasting Centre feeds into our computer models of rivers and
coastal areas to predict the scale and timing of flood risks for specific areas.
Getting accurate and timely weather and flood predictions depends on forecasters receiving live data telling
them what is happening in the atmosphere, on land and in the sea and rivers. We have increased the number of
gauging stations and river level data sites in recent years – see figure seven. This is helping to improve the quality
of computer models and the forecasts we can make. More tide level and wave gauges are also contributing to
increased accuracy of forecasts for coastal flooding events.

Environment Agency Flood and coastal risk management in England 19

 Figure seven: Number of river measuring sites available to help identify flood risk

4000

3500
Number of river measuring sites

3,432
3000 3,240

2500 2,624

2000
1,829
1500
1,456
1000 1,159

500

0
1970‐79 1980‐89 1990‐94 1995‐99 2000‐04 2005‐07

Source the Environment Agency

We are working with partners to develop new ways of presenting information on flooding. These will help flood-
risk managers, and emergency planners and responders, understand what is happening and so do their job with
more confidence and knowledge.

2.6.2 Warning and communicating about floods

To be useful, flood warnings need to get to the people who need them in good time. Those who receive them also
need to be ready and prepared to take action.
Since 2005-06, we have progressively made our flood warning service available to more households and
businesses at risk. In 2007-08, 61 per cent of properties at risk across England and Wales could receive a flood
warning if needed. This was ahead of the target agreed with Government. Our present aim is to make our flood
warnings available to 72 per cent of households and businesses at risk in England and Wales by April 2010-11
and 80 per cent by April 2013. We are on track to achieve this.
We issue flood warnings when our measurements of river or sea levels reach a threshold or trigger level, or when
our forecasts show that high-water levels are imminent. We use forecasts made for 1,163 river level locations and
805 coastal locations to ensure our flood warnings are as accurate as possible for local communities.

Table four: Percentage of properties offered a flood warning

Percentage of properties
2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11
offered a flood warning

England and Wales achieved 20 51 61 — — —

England and Wales target 19 30 57 62 67 71

20 Environment Agency Flood and coastal risk management in England

Our flood warnings service, combines services provided directly to those at risk, and information that is available
to anyone by telephone, the web and the media. The service currently covers risk of flooding from rivers
and the sea.

Our flood warning services

Floodline Warnings Direct (FWD) service provides flood warnings to the at-risk public by telephone, mobile,
e-mail, SMS text message, fax or pager. By April 2009 over 430,000 people in England and Wales were registered
on FWD, and numbers have grown every year since we introduced the service in 2004. In February 2009 we
warned more than 50,000 people in one day, providing information about the developing flood risk across
southern and eastern England.
Floodline (0845 988 1188) our 24-hour telephone helpline gives the public access to up-to-date information
about flooding anywhere in England, Wales and Scotland. In 2008 Floodline received more than 290,000 calls.
Over the last 10 years people have dialled the Floodline number more than 2,540,000 times.

The Environment Agency’s Customer Charter states that. We will provide flood warnings at least two hours before
flooding happens in areas where a service can be provided. During the 2007 floods four-fifths of our warnings
achieved this standard, despite the almost unprecedented intensity of the rainfall.
We regularly carry out public surveys to understand people’s awareness of flood risk and the extent to which
they have prepared for the eventuality of a flood. By April 2009 the number of people living in flood risk areas
that know they are at risk had risen to 55 per cent, up from 46 per cent in 2005-2006. Three out of five of those
who are aware of their risk had taken some action to prepare for a flood. This may have involved checking their
insurance, signing-up to Floodline Warnings Direct, knowing how to turn the electricity supply off, or installing
flood resistance or resilience measures.
Looking ahead, we want to further improve the accuracy, coverage and timeliness of our flood warning
service through:
• Providing new forecasting and warning services for surface water and groundwater flooding. The National
Flood Forecasting Centre is testing an alert service for surface water flooding.
• Developing the current flood warning alerts and warnings to make them easier to understand and act on.
• Providing more detailed advice to emergency and public services before flooding so they can better prepare
for the expected events.
• Working with telecommunications companies to ensure the majority of landline customers at high risk who
have not registered for Floodline Warnings Direct, including ex-directory, can receive flood warnings by 2010.
• Engaging directly with communities through our Floodwise campaign to ensure more people take action to
prepare themselves for the risk of floods in areas known to be at risk.

2.7 Flood response and recovery

When a flood happens, the emergency services, NHS, local authorities, and the Environment Agency take
collective responsibility for minimising the harm to people and property. Working together we manage and
involve other agencies, such as water and energy companies, mounting a strong, unified response. These
‘responders’ prepare their plans for managing flooding in advance and in detail. The 2004 Civil Contingencies Act
provides the basis for planning for all types of emergency. It gives the responders a legal duty to work together to
assess the risks and then make plans to prevent, reduce, control and mitigate the effects of an emergency.
Recovery from a flood can be a long and distressing experience for individuals and communities. For households,
an important contribution to recovery comes from insurance claims that pay for rebuilding and repairs, and may
contribute to temporary accommodation costs while a property dries out.

Environment Agency Flood and coastal risk management in England 21

Local authorities take lead responsibility for recovery at community level. The Government provides National
Recovery Guidance which provides web-based11 ‘one stop shop’ advice on how and where local responders,
especially local authorities, can get help from government or other sources during the recovery phase of
an emergency.
A new National Flood Emergency Framework will provide the basis for future flood emergency planning, response
and recovery. It will define roles, bring together information, guidance and main policies for use by all involved
in emergency planning at national, regional and local levels. Over the last year the Environment Agency has been
working with emergency responders to plan and produce ‘Multi-Agency Flood Plans’ to ensure a stronger and
more consistent response to flood emergencies. Work on developing these plans will continue, as will emergency
exercises to test the collective efficiency and competence of responders. A big national flood emergency exercise
will happen in 2011. The last of these, Exercise Triton, took place in 2004.

2.8 Insurance – spreading risk and recovering quickly

The insurance industry plays a major role in managing the recovery from flooding. Through paid premiums,
policyholders pool their risks, gaining access to the funds when they need to replace and repair their property
after a flood. The Association of British Insurers (ABI) puts the cost of the 2007 floods at £3 billion, with 135,000
claims from householders, 35,000 from businesses and 20,000 for damage to vehicles.12

The improvement in risk information from the Environment Agency has implications for the insurance industry and
policyholders. As risk information improves, insurance companies may choose to raise premiums or withdraw
policies from those most at risk, and to charge lower premiums for those at lower risk. While there is an economic
logic to this, it could lead those most at risk facing severe financial losses in a flood, making it more difficult
for them to recover from a flood if one happened. The ABI and its members are aware of this, and agreed with
Government to continue to provide insurance cover in most cases until at least June 2013.
The agreement, known as the ‘statement of principles’, has conditions: in return for continuing to offer cover,
insurance companies expect action by the Environment Agency to reduce flood risk in the areas of significant
risk. The new statement of principles, agreed in July 2008, also supports the objective of avoiding development in
places at significant risk. Because of this, the ABI will no longer guarantee affordable insurance against flooding
for new developments built against Environment Agency advice from 1 January 2009. Any decision to insure is a
matter for the insuring company. This position will extend to all households and businesses from 2013.

2.9 Funding to support flood risk management

Government recognises flood risk management investment is important. It has substantially increased funding in
real terms since the floods of 2000.13

22 Environment Agency Flood and coastal risk management in England

 Figure eight: Expenditure on flood risk management (England – values adjusted to 2008-2009 prices)
900

800

700
Expenditure £ million 2008/9 prices

600

500

400

300

200

100

0
2000‐1 2001‐2 2002‐3 2003‐4 2004‐5 2005‐6 2006‐7 2007‐8 2008‐9 2009‐10 2010‐11

Environment Agency expenditure (Flood Defence Other public investment (local levy, contributions, IDB
Levy and Flood Defence Grant in Aid from 2004-2005) income, funding from the department of communities and
local government for coastal maintenance)

Source: Defra / Environment Agency

We give funds to other bodies when they are carrying out agreed capital projects. In turn local government also
funds us to carry out works that are a locally identified priority. We use the money we get to complete plans that
are part of our overall strategy.

Figure nine: Flood and coastal risk management expenditure (England): £800 million in 2010-2011

£230 million - non-asset activities

Development control, warnings, strategies,

mapping and other operating activities £205 million
+ £25 million for local authority surface water plans
Environment Agency construction
programme £270 million

Maintenance programme £161 million

Local Authority revenue support grant £87 million

Local Authority and Internal Drainage Board

construction programme £52 million
£570 million - build and
maintain flood defences

Environment Agency Flood and coastal risk management in England 23

3 Who remains at risk of flooding?
3.1 The National Flood Risk Assessment
This National Flood Risk Assessment examines where flooding could occur in all 69 river catchments and the
coastline around England using 39 weather patterns of varying severity and likelihood. The assessment includes
the extent to which flood defence structures reduce the chance of flooding and what might happen if they overtop
or fail. This understanding of the likelihood of flooding allows us to map the vulnerability and impacts of floods,
including the people, property, infrastructure and land (including farmland) at risk. The national assessment
gives a picture of the damage that may arise. This includes costs, and the numbers, types and location of
properties affected. The current analysis has not looked at any other impacts of flooding that also contribute
to the overall risk. These include measures such as risk to life, damage to crops and livestock, disruption to
commerce and transport, long-term changes to habitats, land use and land value.
The national assessment identifies land at risk from flooding using three risk categories. These consider the
chances of weather severe enough to cause a flood, and the likelihood this will overwhelm defence structures or
lead to their failure.

Table five: Flood risk categories

Risk category for a location The chance of flooding in any year at that location

One in 200 chance

Low Less than 0.5 per cent
in any given year

One in 200 to 1 in 75
Moderate 0.5-1.3 per cent
chance in any given year

One in 75 chance
Significant More than 1.3 per cent
in an given year

The risk categories assigned to locations are necessarily estimations because of the complexities of weather
prediction and flood estimation. While the results provide the best national assessment of risk, we take great
care to make sure we and others use the results correctly to avoid unnecessary blight or impact on property
values or flood insurance. The national assessment is a snapshot of current conditions at the time we gather
the data. However, the underlying pressures and drivers, and the flood risk management in response to them,
are changing all the time. The category of a location may change over time because of more accurate modelling,
or better information on the flow of water, or because the risk itself is changing. For example this can happen
because of changes in the catchment, or perhaps because of changes in the protection provided by flood risk
management assets.
We estimated the 2008 flood in Morpeth had a 0.67 per cent (or 1 in 150) chance of occurring in any year. We
recorded 150 mm (6 inches) of rain falling in the River Wansbeck catchment between Friday 5 September and
Saturday 6 September. Weather events like those seen in Morpeth will occur somewhere in England relatively
frequently, with government estimating 1 in 150 or greater chance events having a 65 per cent chance of
happening somewhere in England at least once each year. With climate change, severe conditions will occur
more often in future and 1 in 150 chance events will become even more severe.14

24 Environment Agency Flood and coastal risk management in England

Figure ten: 2.4 million properties at risk of river and coastal flooding by chance of flooding

0 1,000,000 2,000,000 3,000,000

Number of properties

Significant chance of flooding: more than 1:75

Moderate: 1:75 - 1:200
Low: 1:200 - 1:1000

Source: National Flood Risk Assessment, 2008

The maps on the two next pages show two different views of flood risk by local authority area. Firstly figure
11 shows the proportion of the local authority land area at risk of flooding. This information should help local
planning authorities in their decision-making. Only 11 per cent of land is at risk from flooding from even a rare
extreme flood event of up to a 1 in 1,000 (0.1 per cent) chance in any year. We therefore place great emphasis on
controlling flood risk by keeping inappropriate development away from the floodplain. As areas redevelop and
regenerate, there must be maximum encouragement for developers to build property outside the floodplain and
in those exceptional cases where building does take place in the floodplain, to make it safe.
Secondly, figure 12 shows the number of properties at significant risk – giving the extent to which buildings in
the floodplain have more than a 1 in 75 (1.3 per cent) chance of flooding. This combines a measure of likelihood
of a flood in an area and the results, which is the number of properties exposed to the flood event. This shows
the areas where local authorities and the Environment Agency have the greatest challenges.

Environment Agency Flood and coastal risk management in England 25

 Figure 11: Local Authority Boundaries
Percentage of land within the floodplain

26 Environment Agency Flood and coastal risk management in England

Figure 12: Local Authority Boundaries
Number of properties in areas with significant likeihood of flooding

Environment Agency Flood and coastal risk management in England 27

 3.2 Regional and local flood risk
Regionally, London has the highest number of people at risk from flooding. In the Greater London area there are
542,000 properties – around one million people – located in the floodplain

Figure thirteen: Regions ranked by the number of people living in the floodplain

Greater London

Yorkshire and Humber

Government office regional boundaries

South East England Region

East Midlands Region

North West Region

South West Region

East of England Region

West Midlands Region

North East Region

0 200,000 400,000 600,000 800,000 1,000,000 1,200,000

Significant chance Moderate chance Low chance

Source: NaFRA 2008

However, although London does have the largest number of people at risk, 458,000 of those properties at risk in
London – 84 per cent – are in areas with a low chance of flooding. This is mainly due to the major flood defences
and flood defence structures in the Thames Estuary, including the Thames Barrier, reducing the risk of tidal
flooding. Replacing the Thames Barrier and related defences may become necessary at some future point. This is
because a rise in sea level will reduce the protection provided to those currently at low risk. With our professional
partners we are examining the merits of replacing the Thames Barrier and related defences as part of our Thames
Estuary 2100 project.
The 84,000 properties - 16 per cent - in London where the risks are significant or moderate are located on
the tributaries of the River Thames in north and south London. On these rivers, such as the Lee, Brent and
Ravensbourne, the risk is from fluvial, or river flooding, after heavy rainfall. In London there are also risks from
surface water flooding, especially as a result of heavy rainstorms. With highly urbanised river catchments, water
run-off from paved surfaces and surface water can happen very rapidly. The Drain London partnership which is
led by the Greater London Authority and includes the Environment Agency is assessing the risk from surface water
flooding in more detail.
The national assessment informs high-level decisions on where investment is most needed by showing where
investment will give most benefit. The number of properties in areas with a significant chance of flooding are
highest in the south east, which has 25,000 more properties – around 64,000 people – in this highest risk
category compared with the south west. The south east also has the largest number of properties in areas with a
moderate or significant chance of flooding, with 259,000 properties, or around 460,000 people.

28 Environment Agency Flood and coastal risk management in England

 Figure fourteen: Regions ranked by the number of properties at significant risk of flooding

South east England region

South west region

Government office regional boundaries

East Midlands region

Yorkshire and Humber region

Greater London

East of England region

North west region

West midlands region

North east region

0 100,000 200,000 300,000 400,000 500,000 600,000

Significant chance Moderate chance Low chance

Source: NaFRA 2008

The national assessment is also able to identify those local authorities with the most properties that have a
significant chance of flooding from rivers and the sea. The properties in these local authority areas are likely to
flood more often, so householders, businesses and local authorities need to plan and prepare for more regular
flooding. These are areas where we have to make use of all the techniques available for managing flood risk –
not just defence structures. Householders and business need to receive and respond to warnings, undertake
property-level protection measures, and be ready for a flood.

Figure fifteen: The ten local authorities with the highest number of properties in areas with a
significant chance of flooding

Boston District

North Somerset

East Lindsey District

Windsor and Maidenhead

Regional Planning Body

City of Kingston upon Hull

Shepway District

Sedgemoor District

East Riding of Yorkshire

Runnymede District

Warrington

0 30,000 60,000 90,000 120,000 150,000

Significant chance Moderate chance Low chance

Source: NaFRA 2008

Environment Agency Flood and coastal risk management in England 29

Figure 15 shows that the City of Kingston-upon-Hull and East Riding in Yorkshire are the two local authorities with
the highest number of properties with a chance of flooding. However other local authorities, such as Boston and
North Somerset, have a higher share of properties in areas of significant flood chance. For instance, Boston has
about two-thirds of its properties in areas with a significant chance of flooding.
The national assessment allows us to target staff and funding, and to give priority to those communities that
face the greatest risks where risk is a combination of the chance of flooding and the consequences or impacts
of flooding.

30 Environment Agency Flood and coastal risk management in England

4 Protecting communities at risk in the
longer term
4.1 Catchment flood management plans
The challenge ahead for the Environment Agency is to create the right strategic approach to flood risk
management for the longer term, bearing in mind the extent of defence and funding agreed by Government.
Working with many local groups and organisations, we have produced or are in the process of producing
catchment flood management plans (CFMPs) covering the main 68 river catchments in England. The CFMPs cover
all the country, except the Thames estuary. Here, we are preparing a detailed plan (Thames estuary 2100). It will
reflect the needs of the Thames Gateway as it develops and changes in the future.

The CFMPs build on the National Flood Risk Assessment by understanding all the mechanisms behind flood
risk in a catchment, and how flood risk may change in the future as a result of climate change or different land
use. Using this evidence base, the CFMPs set out our policy response to flood risk across each river catchment.
They identify local flood risk management policies that are integrated and balance environmental, social and
economic needs over the long term (50 to 100 years), and comply with government guidance. In practice, most
of the policy actions concentrate on the first 25 years of the plan, recognising that there may be major changes
in our priorities and the issues we need to respond to in planning 50 to 100 years into the future. They are locally
specific and prepared using a consistent method. They follow national guidance and provide a broad assessment
and plan, including:

•C
 atchment overview – a thorough overview of the hydrology, land use and other characteristics of
the catchment.
•C
 urrent flood risks and management – a broad account of the existing flood risks and the protective regime
already in place to manage them.
• F uture flood risk – an assessment of how the risks may evolve, for example through climate change.
•P
 olicy appraisal – an examination of what actions are possible to meet the objectives in each specific area
within the catchment.
• Achieving the CFMP – how the policies identified will become action.

Environment Agency Flood and coastal risk management in England 31

5 Investing for the future
The Environment Agency’s national flood risk assessment shows there are 2.4 million properties at risk from
flooding from rivers and the sea in England, with more exposed to surface water and other forms of flooding. The
expected annual damages to residential and non-residential properties in England at risk from flooding from
rivers and the sea, including hospitals and schools, is over £1 billion.

The Environment Agency play a central role in managing flood risk at all levels, and now has the strategic
overview role for flood risk management from all causes of flooding, including rivers, the sea, groundwater,
reservoirs and surface water. The Government has committed to increasing investment in flood risk management
from £600 million in 2007-2008 to around £800 million in 2010-2011, a total of more than £2.1 billion over the
three years. Government investment in flood risk management represents excellent value for money. Most flood
defence schemes built reduce expected damage by at least £8 for every £1 spent.

It is likely that with climate change and development pressures, the flood risk in England is going to increase
in the future, with potentially the biggest change likely to happen in the latter half of the century. Our decisions
and policy choices will influence and tackle flood risk both now and in the future. We have prepared a Long-term
investment strategy (LTIS) that allows us to understand the future risk, the costs and benefits of investment to
manage it, and the choices available over the next 25 years.

At current levels of funding, the impact on households at risk and expected annual damages are both likely to
increase. The 2004 Foresight Future Flooding report15 suggested that a year-on-year increase of between £10
million and £30 million was necessary every year until the 2080s on top of inflation to respond to climate change.
The LTIS is updating this analysis to examine different investment scenarios. It will help identify the policy
choices open to us, the results of those policy choices, and the investment we need.

Identifying the funding needed to manage increasing flood and coastal risk is a main part of the LTIS. However,
we will also need to identify the best ways of working with central and local government, businesses and
communities to get the maximum benefit from all flood and coastal risk work. The intent is for the LTIS to inform a
public debate on how society manages flood and coastal risk in the future.

32 Environment Agency Flood and coastal risk management in England

References
1. The Government’s Response to Sir Michael Pitt’s Review of the Summer 2007 Floods, Defra,
December 2008
2. Learning Lessons from the 2007 Floods, an independent review by Sir Michael Pitt, Cabinet Office,
June 2008
3. The Government’s Response to Sir Michael Pitt’s Review of the Summer 2007 Floods, Defra,
December 2008
4. Comprehensive Spending Review (CSR) 2007 – Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk Management Allocations.
Letter from the Secretary of State, The Rt. Hon. Hilary Benn MP, to the Environment Agency. Available from
www.defra.gov.uk/environ/fcd/policy/mtp/2007/ea.htm
5. Communities and Local Government, Planning Policy Statement 25: Development and Flood Risk,
December 2006.
6. Planned expenditure on improvement schemes and maintenance for 2010-2011 is £496.4 million,
approximately £100 million more than in 2008-2009. Following the 2007 floods and Comprehensive
Spending Review the government committed to increase overall central government spending from some
£600 million in 2007-2008 to a minimum of £650 million in 2008-2009 and £700 million in 2009-2010,
reaching £800 million in 2010-2011.
7. National Audit Office and Public Accounts Commitee, 2007. Building and Maintaining River and Coastal
Flood Defences in England.
8. Bowker, P, 2007. Flood Resistance and Resilience Solutions. An R&D Scoping Study. R&D Technical Report.
9. ABI Factsheet. Flood Resilient Homes: What homeowners can do to reduce flood damage.
10. As summarised in the Pitt Review, 2008.
11. The guidance is provided by the Cabinet Office Civil Contingencies Secretariat via the ‘UK Resilience’ web
site: www.ukresilience.gov.uk
12. Association of British Insurers, website www.abi.org.uk page: “Latest flood costs” accessed 5
February 2009.
13. Planned expenditure on improvement schemes and maintenance for 2010-11 is £496.4million,
approximately £100 million more than in 2008-2009. Following the 2007 floods and Comprehensive
Spending Review the Government committed to increase overall central government spending from
£600 million in 2007-2008 to a minimum of £650 million in 2008-2009 and £700 million in 2009-2010,
reaching £800 million in 2010-2011.
14. The information and analysis in this paragraph is drawn from the Government’s Response to Sir Michael
Pitt’s Review of the Summer 2007 Floods, Defra, December 2008. Para 10 & 60 and Annex A.
15. Foresight Programme (UK Government), Future Flooding, 2004

Environment Agency Flood and coastal risk management in England 33

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