This metadata record is for Approval for Access product AfA256.

Flood Risk Areas identify locations where there is believed to be significant flood risk. The EU Floods Directive refers to Flood Risk Areas as 'Areas of Potentially Significant Flood Risk' (APSFR).

Flood Risk Areas have been defined by the Environment Agency (main rivers and the sea) and Lead Local Flood Authorities (surface water). Other sources of flooding are not covered. This dataset includes Flood Risk Areas defined for both Cycle 1 (December 2011) and Cycle 2 (December 2018).

The criteria used to determine significance are explained in supporting guidance document supplied with this data.

Flood Risk Areas determine where Flood Hazard and Risk Maps and Flood Risk Management Plans must subsequently be produced to meet obligations under the EU Floods Directive.

INFORMATION WARNING

Flood Risk Areas are designed to meet the needs of the European Floods Directive. They are designed for broad planning purposes only and are not appropriate for any other type of flood mapping. Other flood mapping is available which is more appropriate to showing localised flood risk.

PLEASE NOTE: This dataset has been retired. It has been superseded by https://environment.data.gov.uk/dataset/04532375-a198-476e-985e-0579a0a11b47.The Flood Map for Planning (Rivers and Sea) includes several layers of information. This dataset covers Flood Zone 2 and should not be used without Flood Zone 3. It is our best estimate of the areas of land at risk of flooding, when the presence of flood defences are ignored and covers land between Zone 3 and the extent of the flooding from rivers or the sea with a 1 in 1000 (0.1%) chance of flooding each year. This dataset also includes those areas defined in Flood Zone 3.This dataset is designed to support flood risk assessments in line with Planning Practice Guidance ; and raise awareness of the likelihood of flooding to encourage people living and working in areas prone to flooding to find out more and take appropriate action.The information provided is largely based on modelled data and is therefore indicative rather than specific. Locations may also be at risk from other sources of flooding, such as high groundwater levels, overland run off from heavy rain, or failure of infrastructure such as sewers and storm drains.The information indicates the flood risk to areas of land and is not sufficiently detailed to show whether an individual property is at risk of flooding, therefore properties may not always face the same chance of flooding as the areas that surround them. This is because we do not hold details about properties and their floor levels. Information on flood depth, speed or volume of flow is not included.NOTE: We have paused quarterly updates of this dataset. Please visit the “Pause to Updates of Flood Risk Maps” announcement on our support pages for further information. We will provide notifications on the Flood Map for Planning website to indicate where we have new flood risk information. Other data related to the Flood Map for Planning will continue to be updated, including data relating to flood history, flood defences, and water storage areas.

The Flood Map for Planning (Rivers and Sea) includes several layers of information. This layer and documentation covers Flood Zone 2. It is the Environment Agency's best estimate of the areas of land at risk of flooding, when he presence of flood defences are ignored and covers land between Zone 3 and the extent of the flooding from rivers or the sea with a 1 in 1000 (0.1%) chance of flooding each year. This dataset also includes those areas defined in Flood Zone 3.This dataset is designed to support flood risk assessments in line with Planning Practice Guidance ; and raise awareness of the likelihood of flooding to encourage people living and working in areas prone to flooding to find out more and take appropriate action. This dataset is republished by the West of England Combined Authority for supplementing information within our Local Nature Recovery Strategy. If you are using it for statutory purposes, you should refer to the Environment Agency's canonical version, linked in the Attributions field below as this is likely to be more current.

The Flood Map for Planning Service includes several layers of information. This includes the Flood Zones data which shows the extent of land at present day risk of flooding from rivers and the sea, ignoring the benefits of defences, for the following scenarios:

• Flood Zone 1 – Land having a less than 0.1% (1 in 1000) annual probability of flooding. • Flood Zone 2 – Land having between 0.1% - 1% (1 in 100 to 1 in 1000) annual probability of flooding from rivers or between 0.1% - 0.5% (1 in 200 to 1 in 1000) annual probability of flooding from the sea, and accepted recorded flood outlines . • Flood Zone 3 – Areas shown to be at a 1% (1 in 100) or greater annual probability of flooding from rivers or 0.5% (1 in 200) or greater annual probability of flooding from the sea.

Flood Zone 1 is not shown in this dataset, but covers all areas not contained within Flood Zones 2 and 3. Local Planning Authorities (LPAs) use the Flood Zones to determine if they must consult the Environment Agency on planning applications. They are also used to determine if development is incompatible and whether development is subject to the exception test. The Flood Zones are one of several flood risk datasets used to determine the need for planning applications to be supported by a Flood Risk Assessment (FRA) and subject to the sequential test.

The Flood Zones are a composite dataset including national and local modelled data, and information from past floods.

The Flood Zones are designed to only give an indication of flood risk to an area of land and are not suitable for showing whether an individual property is at risk of flooding. This is because we cannot know all the details about each property.

Set of shapefiles defining Indicative Flood Risk Areas for local risk. Indicative Flood Risk Areas are provided by the Environment Agency for use by Lead Local Flood Authorities in England in their review during 2017 of Preliminary Flood Risk Assessments and Flood Risk Areas under the Flood Risk Regulations.

The Indicative Flood Risk Areas are primarily based on an aggregated 1km square grid Updated Flood Map for Surface Water (1 in 100 and 1000 annual probability rainfall), informally referred to as the “blue square map”. These are 1km grids across England and consist of the following data layers:

• Surface Water Flood Risk Exposure Grid – 1km square grid that shows places above the flood risk threshold defined, using the 1 in 100 and 1000 annual probability (deep) Flood Map for Surface Water. • Flood risk thresholds used to generate the “blue Squares”: - Number of people > 200 - Number of critical services, including electricity and water > 1 - Number of non-residential properties > 20 • Cluster Maps – are aggregations of 3km by 3km squares that each contain at least 5 touching "blue squares" (i.e. 1km grid squares where one of the thresholds above is exceeded) • Communities at Risk by Lead Local Flooding Authority • People Sensitivity Map by Lead Local Flood Authority. Attribution statement: © Environment Agency copyright and/or database right 2016. All rights reserved. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence

PLEASE NOTE: this dataset has been retired. It has been superseded by data for Flood Risk Areas: https://environment.data.gov.uk/dataset/f3d63ec5-a21a-49fb-803a-0fa0fb7238b6

Shapefile for Indicative Flood Risk Areas generated using the Environment Agency's Communities at Risk Approach. This information is provided by the Environment Agency for use by LLFAs in their review during 2017 of Preliminary Flood Risk Assessments and Flood Risk Areas under the Flood Risk Areas. it must be used in conjunction with data for Indicative Flood Risk Areas generated by the Environment Agency using the cluster method as well.

The Indicative Flood Risk Areas are primarily based on an aggregated 1km square grid Updated Flood Map for Surface Water (1 in 100 and 1000 annual probability rainfall), informally referred to as the “blue square map”.

This dataset is a component of Indicative Flood Risk Areas (shapefiles)

A bundle download of all Indicative Flood Risk Areas spatial datasets is also available from this record. Please see individual records for full details and metadata on each product.Aggregated 1km square grid Updated Flood Map for Surface WaterClick Here to go straight to the DSP Metadata Page for this Dataset.

Public Awareness of Flood Risk: the Role of the Environment Agency Flood Map, 2006-2007 aims to investigate how ‘official’ information translates into public understanding and action, using the example of the Environment Agency's (EA) flood map web site. The study has two different elements; a web survey and flood map experiments. The web survey was delivered on-line from the EA servers, with a portal on the flood map site. Users of the EA web page were asked to complete the survey which resulted in 1,395 valid responses. Questions were asked about the EA website and in particular the flood map. The flood map experiments were in-depth interviews with 51 respondents from specially selected case study areas which had different degrees of flood experience. Individuals were asked to work through online flood map material and their responses to specific questions were recorded. The case study areas where: Brockenhurst, Hampshire (9 participants - inland river flooding/moderate risk); Hambeldon, Hampshire (11 participants – recent groundwater flooding/high risk), Carlisle, Cumbria (13 participants – recent inland river flooding/high risk), and a control population of university environmental management students representing highly informed users with low current risk - Portsmouth University (18 participants). Further information is available from the ESRC award web page (http://www.esrcsocietytoday/esrcinfocentre/viewawardpage.aspx?awardnumber=RES-000-22-1710).

PLEASE NOTE: This record has been retired. It has been superseded by: https://environment.data.gov.uk/dataset/b5aaa28d-6eb9-460e-8d6f-43caa71fbe0eThis dataset is not suitable for identifying whether an individual property will flood. This bundle includes the Basic subset of layers from our Risk of Flooding from Surface Water (RoFSW) mapping, previously known as the updated Flood Map for Surface Water (uFMfSW). It is a group of datasets previously available as the uFMfSW Complex Package. The Basic subset includes the following layers: Risk of Flooding from Surface Water Extent: 0.1 percent annual chance Risk of Flooding from Surface Water Extent: 1 percent annual chance Risk of Flooding from Surface Water Extent: 3.3 percent annual chance Risk of Flooding from Surface Water Input Model DetailsRisk of Flooding from Surface Water Suitability

InformationWarnings: Risk of Flooding from Surface Water is not to be used at property level. If the Content is displayed in map form to others we recommend it should not be used with basemapping more detailed than 1:10,000 as the data is open to misinterpretation if used as a more detailed scale. Because of the way they have been produced and the fact that they are indicative, the maps are not appropriate to act as the sole evidence for any specific planning or regulatory decision or assessment of risk in relation to flooding at any scale without further supporting studies or evidence. Some features of this information are based on digital spatial data licensed from the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology © NERC (CEH). Defra, Met Office and DARD Rivers Agency © Crown copyright. © Cranfield University. © James Hutton Institute. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2015. Land & Property Services © Crown copyright and database right.This partner version can be downloaded from environment.data.gov.uk.

These 3 layers show the extent of flooding from surface water that could result from a flood with a 3.3% (1 in 30), 1% (1 in 100), and 0.1% (1 in 1000) chance of happening in any given year.Surface water flooding happens when rainwater does not drain away through the normal drainage systems or soak into the ground, but lies on or flows over the ground instead. Managing the risk of flooding from surface water is the responsibility of lead local flood authorities (LLFA). The LLFA is the unitary authority or if there is no unitary authority, the county council for the area.The Environment Agency (EA) is responsible for publishing surface water flood risk maps however mapping of surface water flood risk areas is responsibility of LLFAs. We, the EA, produced the Risk of Flooding from Surface Water (RoFSW) map on behalf of LLFAs, using their input and information. It assesses flooding scenarios as a result of rainfall with a 3.3% (1 in 30), 1% (1 in 100), or 0.1% (1 in 1000) chance of occurring each year. Although surface water flood risk information is not suitable for identifying whether an individual property will flood it does gives an indication of the broad areas likely to be affected.More information - What is the Risk of Flooding from Surface map

This dataset consists of an interactive map (and supporting guidance) containing background information that informs how we understand flood risk across the South West River Basin District. The map shows the River Basin District, component river basins and the coastline together with layers showing land use and topography.

This dataset together with equivalent datasets for each River Basin District, supports the Preliminary Flood Risk Assessment for England report which has been written to meet the requirements of the Flood Risk Regulations (2009) - to complete an assessment of flood risk and produce supporting maps of river catchments.

The Historic Flood Map is a GIS layer showing the maximum extent of individual Recorded Flood Outlines from river, the sea and groundwater springs that meet a set criteria. It shows areas of land that have previously been subject to flooding in England. This excludes flooding from surface water, except in areas where it is impossible to determine whether the source is fluvial or surface water but the dominant source is fluvial.

The majority of records began in 1946 when predecessor bodies to the Environment Agency started collecting detailed information about flooding incidents, although we hold limited details about flooding incidents prior to this date.

If an area is not covered by the Historic Flood Map it does not mean that the area has never flooded, only that we do not currently have records of flooding in this area that meet the criteria for inclusion. It is also possible that the pattern of flooding in this area has changed and that this area would now flood or not flood under different circumstances. Outlines that don’t meet this criteria are stored in the Recorded Flood Outlines dataset.

The Historic Flood Map takes into account the presence of defences, structures, and other infrastructure where they existed at the time of flooding. It will include flood extents that may have been affected by overtopping, breaches or blockages.

Flooding is shown to the land and does not necessarily indicate that properties were flooded internally.

The Flood Zones show the probability of river and sea flooding, ignoring the presence of defences.

There are four zones, 1, 2, 3a and 3b, that reflect the annual probability of flooding happening.

This map shows all areas with more than a 1 in 1,000 annual probability of either river or sea flooding by combining zones 2, 3a and 3b.

If you want to submit a planning application within these zones, you will need to do a flood risk assessment. For a full explanation of when a flood risk assessment is required, visit https://www.gov.uk/guidance/flood-risk-assessment-for-planning-applications#when-you-need-an-assessment.

To view more detailed information on the flood zones, visit https://flood-map-for-planning.service.gov.uk/.

This dataset consists of an interactive map (and supporting guidance) containing background information that informs how we understand flood risk across the Thames River Basin District. The map shows the River Basin District, component river basins and the coastline together with layers showing land use and topography.

This dataset together with equivalent datasets for each River Basin District, supports the Preliminary Flood Risk Assessment for England report which has been written to meet the requirements of the Flood Risk Regulations (2009) - to complete an assessment of flood risk and produce supporting maps of river catchments. Attribution statement: Open Government Licence

© Environment Agency copyright and/or database right 2018. All rights reserved. © Crown copyright and database rights 2018 Ordnance Survey 100024198 © Bluesky International Ltd/Getmapping PLC. Some features of this map are based on digital spatial data from the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, British Antarctic Survey and British Geological Survey. © NERC (Centre for Ecology & Hydrology; British Antarctic Survey; British Geological Survey).
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

The Development Advice Map (DAM) shows areas at risk of flooding from rivers and the sea for the purposes of land-use planning. The DAM supports Planning Policy Wales and Technical Advice Note (TAN) 15 to guide new development away from areas at risk of flooding wherever possible. Together, they form a precautionary framework to guide planning decisions. The DAM should be considered as a trigger for identifying which development proposals may need to undertake a more detailed assessment of flooding risks and consequences in line with the policy advice set out in TAN15.

Zone C (the 1000yr extreme flood outline) was last updated in January 2020. No further updates are planned to the DAM and you are advised to contact Natural Resources Wales (NRW) about the availability of more up-to-date information.

Zone B (areas known to have flooded in the past) was originally published in 2004 and revised in 2017. When using the DAM the preview defaults to Zone B only. You will need to use the legend control to switch on the other zones.

NRW has developed a new Flood Map for Planning (FMfP) which was published in September 2021. This indicates undefended flood extents over the next 100yrs taking into account the impacts of climate change. This will replace the DAM in June 2023. Although the Flood Map for Planning is not referred to in current planning policy, it can be considered as the most up to date information on flooding risks.

Due to technical Issues the Web Services and Map Browser for the Development Advice Map are currently not available. If you wish to browse the data see the NRW Flood Risk Viewer https://maps.cyfoethnaturiolcymru.gov.uk/Html5Viewer/Index.html?configBase=https://maps.cyfoethnaturiolcymru.gov.uk/Geocortex/Essentials/REST/sites/Flood_Risk/viewers/Flood_Risk/virtualdirectory/Resources/Config/Default&layerTheme=2

This dataset is now retired and replaced with the following:

Reservoir Flood Extents - Fluvial Contribution (National) https://environment.data.gov.uk/dataset/db114020-465a-412b-b289-be393d995a75 Reservoir Flood Extents - Wet Day (National) https://environment.data.gov.uk/dataset/d81646cf-37e5-4e71-bbcf-b7d5b9ca3a1c Reservoir Flood Extents - Dry Day (National) https://environment.data.gov.uk/dataset/c66ee97f-49d2-454e-9a19-d48a47bd22ad

This is the simplified version of the outline Reservoir Flood Map Outline (Depth) as shown on the gov.uk Flood Risk website. This is one of 3 available "Risk of Flooding from Reservoirs" Web Mapping Services; Maximum Flood Depth, Maximum Flood Extent, Maximum Flood Speed.

Simplified in this context refers to the fact that unlike the detailed product, individual reservoir flood map depths are not shown separately, and one merged outline shows the maximum flood depth for all reservoir flooding scenarios together.

This is a data layer showing a combined reservoir flood map for 2,092 Large Raised Reservoirs including attributed data. The data shows the maximum depth of flooding should reservoirs be breached, and although the location of each reservoir can be inferred they are not explicitly shown on the maps. The Reservoir Flood Map Maximum Flood Outline (Depth) in its simplified form is referred to externally as Risk of Flooding from Reservoirs – Maximum Flood Depth.

The Reservoir Flood Map Outline (Depth) shows the maximum flood depths that might be expected if a reservoir were to fail and release the water it holds. Since this is a prediction of a credible worst case scenario, it’s unlikely that any actual flood would be this deep. These data are intended for emergency planning only and are not reliable for large scale flood risk assessments.

Please note that only flood maps for large reservoirs are displayed. Flood maps are not displayed for smaller reservoirs or for reservoirs commissioned after reservoir mapping began in spring 2009.

Information Warning: Only the Maximum extent, velocity and depth categories are available under the standard OGL terms when supplied as a WMS. This excludes the underlying data. Attribution statement: © Environment Agency copyright and/or database right 2019. All rights reserved.

PLEASE NOTE: this dataset has been retired. It has been superseded by data for Flood Risk Areas: https://environment.data.gov.uk/dataset/f3d63ec5-a21a-49fb-803a-0fa0fb7238b6

The Indicative Flood Risk Areas are primarily based on an aggregated 1km square grid Updated Flood Map for Surface Water (1 in 100 and 1000 annual probability rainfall), informally referred to as the “blue square map”.

This dataset is a component of Indicative Flood Risk Areas (shapefiles)

A bundle download of all Indicative Flood Risk Areas spatial datasets is also available from this record. Please see individual records for full details and metadata on each product. Attribution statement: © Environment Agency copyright and/or database right 2016. All rights reserved.

This spatial Flood Warning Areas dataset are geographical areas where NRW expect flooding to occur and where NRW provide a Flood Warning Service. Flood Warning Areas generally contain properties that are expected to flood from rivers or the sea. Specifically, Flood Warning Areas define locations within the Flood Warning Service Limit that represent a discrete community at risk of flooding. A discrete community is a recognised and named geographical community, which can be an urban area, a significant suburb of a large city or a village or a hamlet. The purpose of Flood Warnings is to alert people that flooding is expected and they should take action to protect themselves and their property. An online viewable version of this dataset is available here https://naturalresources.wales/our-evidence-and-reports/maps/flood-risk-map/?lang=en

This dataset consists of an interactive map (and supporting guidance) containing background information that informs how we understand flood risk across the Solway Tweed River Basin District. The map shows the River Basin District, component river basins and the coastline together with layers showing land use and topography.

This dataset together with equivalent datasets for each River Basin District, supports the Preliminary Flood Risk Assessment for England report which has been written to meet the requirements of the Flood Risk Regulations (2009) - to complete an assessment of flood risk and produce supporting maps of river catchments.

Risk of Flooding from Rivers and the Sea (RoFRS) shows the chance of flooding from rivers and the sea taking into account the presence and condition of flood defences. It is our main way of communicating flood risk from rivers and sea to the public through our ‘Check Your Long Term Flood Risk’ service on gov.uk. Climate change scenarios have been produced for this dataset to indicate the predicted impacts of climate change on future risk.

While flood defences reduce the level of risk they do not completely remove it. For example, water can flow over the top of the defence, or they can fail in extreme weather conditions or if they are in poor condition. As a result, the RoFRS maps may show that there is risk to areas behind some flood defences.

RoFRS is a probabilistic product, meaning that it shows the overall risk, rather than the risk associated with a specific event or scenario. In externally published versions of this dataset, risk is displayed as one of four likelihood bandings:

High - greater than or equal to 3.3% chance in any given year (1 in 30) 
Medium - less than 3.3% (1 in 30) but greater than or equal to 1% (1 in 100) chance in any given year 
Low - less than 1% (1 in 100) but greater than or equal to 0.1% (1 in 1,000) chance in any given year 
Very Low - less than 0.1% chance in any given year (1 in 1,000) 

Our climate change allowances include anticipated changes to:

- Peak river flow 
- Sea level rise 
- Offshore wind speed and extreme wave height 

The climate change allowances are based on the latest UK Climate Projections (UKCP18) from the Met Office, using the Representative Concentration Pathway (RCP) 8.5.

Our Flood risk assessment: climate change allowances include several different allowances reflecting the range of possible future climates. They also provide allowances for different periods of time, acknowledging that some users will want to look further into the future than others. The periods of time vary for each source of risk because equivalent datasets for each source are not always available.

Check Your Long-Term Flood Risk is aimed at supporting individuals, communities and organisations making short- and medium-term decisions to manage future flood risk. We have therefore chosen:

- the ‘Central’ allowance for the 2050s epoch (2040-2069) for risk of flooding from rivers 
- the ‘Higher Central’ allowance for risk of flooding from the sea, accounting for cumulative sea level rise to 2065 

This data also presents the likelihood of flooding for the following depths:

0.2m 
0.3m 
0.6m 
0.9m 
1.2m 

NB. This is a complex dataset, with preview available only on certain zoom levels. The Web Mapping service has been set to 1:50 000 in the