Planning guidance for climate change-related flood risks

A draft guide has been published to help planners better understand how planning policy should be used to manage flood risk, as climate change continues to impact on traditional weather patterns.

The ‘living draft’ of a Practice Guide Companion to Planning Policy Statement 25 (PPS25) will act as a consultation document as well as an interim support document for planners on applying PPS25 policy and seeks to help create consistency in how PPS25 is implemented across the country.

Lords Minister for Planning, Baroness Andrews said: 'This Practice Guide will be central to the successful delivery of the new PPS25. Recent extreme weather conditions have shown how vital it is that strategic plans taking flood risk into account become a core part of the planning process.

'Consulting on the guide will also provide an opportunity to further develop effective tools to make PPS25 policy work in practice, particularly by improving flood risk assessment at all levels of the planning system. Key stakeholders have already made clear the value of such a guide and I look forward to hearing further views.'

Meanwhile, Communities and Local Government is preparing a series of regional workshops in partnership with the RTPI to help planners understand PPS25. The final version of the Practice Guide is expected to be issued later in the year.