Details of our Standing Advice for low risk planning applications.
Summary
Standing Advice is a tool to help Local Planning Authorities (LPAs) establish the level of environmental risk involved with planning applications and deal with low risk applications without the need to consult the Environment Agency directly. Allowing us to focus our efforts on higher risk developments. We will still continue to provide case by case advice to plans that are classed as high risk by the Standing Advice.
What are the advantages?
- consultations with us are faster
- our responses will be more consistent
Standing Advice forms an important part of the Government's reform of the planning system, by delivering faster and more consistent decisions while continuing to give full consideration to possible environmental effects. So far we have developed Standing Advice on Development and flood risk for England. Flood Risk Standing Advice (FRSA) doesn’t apply in Wales.
Flood Risk Standing Advice for England
Flood risk is an issue that you need to consider if you are planning a new development, whether a home extension or something bigger, or even a change of use.
Following the launch of the National Planning Policy Framework we have reviewed and updated our flood risk standing advice.
The LPA will make a decision on whether a development is suitable. The Environment Agency helps in this process by providing advice, either on a case by case basis or for lower risk development via a series of standard comments known as 'standing advice'.
This FRSA is valid from April 2012.
Flood risk standing advice for applicants and agents
More information is available for planning applicants and their agents to help when you submit a planning application.
Flood risk standing advice for Local Planning Authorities
LPA users can download our interactive tool to help you decide when to consult us, what the consultation should contain, and how to make a decision on lower risk sites.
Flood map
To make sense of this advice you need to know what flood zone the proposed development is in. You should use our flood maps to do this. LPAs should refer to the Environment Agency's flood map already supplied on CD. The dark blue area on a flood map is equivalent to flood zone 3 and the light blue area is equivalent to flood zone 2 (England only).
Feedback
If you have any comments on the contents of the flood risk standing advice please contact either your local Planning Liaison team or Sally Holloway.
For further details or to request this information please contact either our National Customer Contact Centre (NCCC) on 0370 8506506 (Mon-Fri, 8am - 6pm) or by email.
You can also speak to your local External Relations team.
