Gateshead Council Level 1 Strategic Flood Risk Assessment
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Gateshead Council Level 1 Strategic Flood Risk Assessment Final Report March 2019 Development & Enterprise Gateshead Council Civic Centre Regent Street Gateshead NE8 1HH JBA Project Manager Howard Keeble JBA Consulting Mersey Bank House Barbauld Street Warrington WA1 1WA Revision History Revision Ref / Date Issued Amendments Issued to V1.0 / March 2017 - Gayle Wilson V1.1 / August 2017 Draft following site Gayle Wilson screening review V2.0 / October 2017 Council Comments Gayle Wilson V3.0 / July 2018 Sites rescreened for Gayle Wilson reduced sites. Coal mining SuDS suitability screening. Policy updates V 4.0 / September 2018 Sites rescreened and SFRA Gayle Wilson updates V 5.0 / October 2018 SFRA updates Gayle Wilson V 6.0 / January 2019 NPPF 2018 and UKCP18 Gayle Wilson updates V 8.0 / March 2019 NPPF 2019 updates and Gayle Wilson Council comments Contract This report describes work commissioned by Gayle Wilson, on behalf of Gateshead Council by a letter dated 19 July 2016. Gateshead Council’s representative for the contract was Gayle Wilson. Mike Williamson, Howard Keeble and Rachel Bryan of JBA Consulting carried out this work. Prepared by .................................................. Rachel Bryan BSc (Hons) Assistant Analyst Reviewed by ................................................. Howard Keeble MPhil BEng BSc CertBusStud CEng CEnv CSci MICE MCIWEM C.WEM Technical Director Purpose This document has been prepared as a Final Report for Gateshead Council. JBA Consulting accepts no responsibility or liability for any use that is made of this document other than by the Client for the purposes for which it was originally commissioned and prepared. JBA Consulting has no liability regarding the use of this report except to Gateshead Council. Gateshead Level 1 SFRA Final Report v8.0.docx i Acknowledgements JBA would like to thank all Gateshead Council, Environment Agency and Northumbrian Water staff for their time and commitment to providing data and discussing the issues identified during the course of this study. Copyright © Jeremy Benn Associates Limited 2019 Carbon Footprint A printed copy of the main text in this document will result in a carbon footprint of 412g if 100% post- consumer recycled paper is used and 525g if primary-source paper is used. These figures assume the report is printed in black and white on A4 paper and in duplex. JBA is aiming to reduce its per capita carbon emissions. Gateshead Level 1 SFRA Final Report v8.0.docx ii Executive Summary This Level 1 Strategic Flood Risk Assessment (SFRA) updates the previous Level 1 assessment published in 2013 using up-to-date flood risk information together with the most current flood risk and planning policy available from the National Planning Policy Framework 1 (NPPF) (2019) and Flood Risk and Coastal Change Planning Practice Guidance 2 (FRCC-PPG). Gateshead Council (GC) requires this update to initiate the sequential risk-based approach to the allocation of land for development as part of the Local Plan (Making Spaces For Growing Places) and to identify whether application of the Exception Test is likely to be necessary. This will help to inform and to provide the evidence base for the Local Plan. The objectives of this Level 1 SFRA are designed to consider the requirements of the FRCC-PPG (ID: 7-010-20140306): • To understand flood risk from all sources and to investigate and identify the extent and severity of flood risk throughout the borough. This assessment will enable GC to apply the Sequential Test in the preparation of the Local Plan, steer development away from those areas where flood risk is considered greatest, ensuring that areas allocated for development can be developed in a safe, cost effective and sustainable manner. • To form part of the evidence base and inform the Sustainability Appraisal (Incorporating the Strategic Environmental Assessment) for the council’s Local Plan. • To make recommendations on the suitability of potential development sites based on flood risk for Gateshead Council's Local Plan 'Making Spaces for Growing Spaces'. • To provide guidance for developers and planning officers dealing with applications as well as for the council to fulfil its role as LLFA as statutory consultee including advice the drainage hierarchy, whether SuDS are reasonably practicable and SuDS maintenance. • To assess surface water flood risk, using the Environment Agency’s (EA) third generation surface water flood map, the Risk of Flooding from Surface Water map (RoFSW). • To enable Gateshead Council to meet its obligations under the NPPF (2019). • To supplement current policy guidelines and to provide a straightforward risk based approach to development management in the area. • To provide a reference document (this report) to which all parties involved in development planning and flood risk can reliably turn to for initial advice and guidance. • To develop a report that forms the basis of an informed development management process that also provides guidance on the potential risk of flooding associated with future planning applications and the basis for site-specific Flood Risk Assessments (FRAs) where necessary. • To consider emergency planning arrangements, acceptability of flood risk in relation to emergency planning capability. • To identify land required for current and future flood management that should be safeguarded as set out in the NPPF (2019). • To advise on the applicability of Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS) for managing surface water runoff. • To assist Gateshead Council in identifying specific locations where further and more detailed flood risk data and assessment work is required as part of a Level 2 SFRA, prior to the allocation of specific developments, and apply the Exception Test for the Local Plan preparation. • To understand the flood risk to and from a catchment and support the catchment management approach to highlight opportunities to reduce flood risk. • To support the implementation of the Local Flood Risk Management Strategy. • To recommend opportunities offered by new development to reduce the causes and impacts of flooding including to reduce flood risk to existing communities and developments through better management of surface water, provision for conveyance and of storage for flood water. 1 http://planningguidance.planningportal.gov.uk/blog/policy/ 2 http://planningguidance.planningportal.gov.uk/blog/guidance/flood-risk-and-coastal-change/ Gateshead Level 1 SFRA Final Report v8.0.docx iii • Consider where climate change is expected to increase flood risk which could affect existing and new development. • To consider any strategic cross boundary flood management issues which would require further joint working between local planning authorities and other flood management authorities. • To consider any flood risk management infrastructure requirements for new development to feed into the infrastructure delivery plan. The Local Planning Authority (LPA) provided its latest potential sites data and information for assessment. An assessment of flood risk to all 571 sites is provided to assist the LPA in its decision- making process for sites to take forward as part of the Local Plan. This assessment has shown there to be a number of the 571 sites at varying risk from fluvial, tidal and surface water flooding. Table 1-1 summarises the number of sites at risk from each flood zone as per the Environment Agency's Flood Map for Planning. Table 1-1: Number of potential development sites within each fluvial, tidal or surface water flood zone Flood zone Number of sites at risk Flood Zone 3b 5 Flood Zone 3a 55 Flood Zone 2 82 Flood Zone 1 488 High Risk surface water 218 Medium Risk surface water 322 Low Risk surface water 445 Strategic recommendations, in Section 6.4.1 of this report, are made for each site at risk in order to help the LPA carry out the Sequential Testing of sites, as required by the FRCC-PPG of the NPPF: • Consider withdrawing the site based on level of flood risk (strategic recommendation A); • Exception Test required if site passes Sequential Test (strategic recommendation B); • Consider site layout and design if site passes Sequential Test (strategic recommendation C); • Site-specific FRA required (strategic recommendation D); and • Site permitted on flood risk grounds due to no perceived risk, subject to consultation with the LPA / LLFA (strategic recommendation E). Table 1-2 lists the number of sites each strategic recommendation is applied to. Table 1-2: Number of potential development sites per strategic recommendation Strategic recommendation Number of sites A 33 B 2 C 211 D 243 E 82 In summary, thirty-three sites are recommended for withdrawal (strategic recommendation A) and three are to pass the Exception Test for development to proceed (strategic recommendation B). 211 sites will need to include consideration of site layout whilst sites will require more detailed site specific FRA as part of development planning in order to demonstrate that flood risk can be management throughout the lifetime of the proposed development. 82 sites are likely to be permitted for development on flood risk grounds (strategic recommendation E). Overall, 33 sites out of 571 are recommended for withdrawal based on flood risk. The LPA should assess these sites in more detail to gauge whether to take these sites forward for allocation. Included along with this report as part of the SFRA are: Gateshead Level 1 SFRA Final Report v8.0.docx iv • Detailed interactive GeoPDF maps showing all available flood risk