West London Strategic Flood Risk Assessment

What is a flood risk assessment?

A flood risk assessment (FRA) is a report that must go with certain applications. It ensures the land is suitable for the planned development. It highlights how the development will manage flooding.

It will also explain how it mitigates flooding in the future. It may take into account the impacts of climate change.

Guidance on whether an assessment is needed can be found on the in the West London SFRA website. See section 4.2.4 for our borough-specific conditions.

If your application does need a FRA, you may need to contact a consultant to prepare it for you. If your application needs a FRA and you do not submit one, it will not be validated.

West London boroughs

The following London boroughs have commissioned a joint Level 1 SFRA:

  • Brent
  • Barnet
  • Ealing
  • Harrow
  • Hillingdon
  • Hounslow

You can see if your property is in a flood zone on an interactive map. It also provides guidance on flood risk across the study area.

Environment Agency (EA) involvement

We consult the EA on certain applications. These include:

  • applications within flood zones two and three
  • any application on a site over one hectare in size in flood zone one
  • smaller applications in flood zone one. These are in areas that have critical drainage issues.

If your application can be referred to the EA, we will issue the consultation.

Supporting documents and guides

The West London SFRA website has information on:

  • Application of the Sequential and Exception Tests
  • Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS)
  • Site-Specific Flood Risk Assessment (FRA)
  • Drainage Strategies
  • Flood Risk Management Structures and Features
  • Borough-Specific Requirements.