Strategic Flood Risk Assessment Update & Drainage Guidance

An opportunity for the update of an existing Level 1 Strategic Floor Risk Assessment (SFRA). This will include specifically, a policy update and review of recent hydraulic modelling completed by the Environment Agency, to inform the Local Plan, and provide an evidence base for Local Plan policy setting. Furthermore, the work will include the creation of local drainage guidance to inform individual planning applications. There are two main elements to this commission. The first is to prepare a (Level 1 update) and update to the Council's existing Strategic Flood Risk Assessment published in 2006 and updated in 2011. The updated SFRA will form a critical part of the Council's evidence base for the Local Plan. The Council is currently undertaking an appraisal of defence condition of Council owned defences to create a coastal asset register, and an appraisal of third party defences benefitting development sites, as part of regeneration work. Level 2 SFRA work may be necessary at a later date, if, taking into account wider sustainability objectives it is not possible to direct all development outside of medium or high risk areas. The second is to provide specific drainage guidance for developments, drawing on the existing Local Flood Risk Management Strategy and Surface Water Management Plan, in order to provide a Medway Drainage Guidance document which can be used to directly inform site specific Flood Risk Assessments/Drainage Strategies. Given the interrelationship between the SFRA and the Drainage Guidance Document, the Council considers it appropriate to commission them jointly.