Strategic Flood Risk Assessment and Outline Water Cycle Study

The Basingstoke and Deane Local Plan 2011-2029 (ALP) was adopted in May 2016. The council has now undertaken a review of the plan and is due to progress an update to the Plan focusing on strategic issues, in line with national policy and guidance. An up-to-date SFRA and WCS will provide evidence to support decision making relating to future development and inform the approach taken, ensuring that the scale and location of development proposed can be met without increasing flood risk and adversely impacting on the borough's water environment. It will also help to ensure that required infrastructure can be planned for and brought forward alongside new development, in a timely and phased manner.

The SFRA and WCS will need to comply with the national level planning policy requirements, as set out in the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) and Planning Practice Guide (PPG) and best practice. Both documents will need to provide the evidence required to facilitate the delivery of sustainable growth to meet needs, allow longer term planning to take place, enable key stakeholders to coordinate their work and ensure that opportunities to protect and improve the water environment and reduce flood risk are identified. The studies also need to be responsive to the flood and water issues and policy context which is particular to Basingstoke and Deane.