Flood Risk & Drainage for Architects
Flood Risk Assessments, SuDS strategies and drainage design that slot into your projects — fast, fixed-fee, and written to get your clients' applications through first time.
A Consultant Who Works to Your Drawings and Your Deadlines
Architects come to us because they want a flood risk and drainage consultant who is easy to work with: someone who reads the drawings properly, works from your CAD files, flags the design implications early — floor levels, thresholds, where the SuDS has to go — and delivers a planning-ready report without fuss. That is what we do, and because the work is done personally by the consultant you speak to, there's no hand-off and no chasing.
We cover the full range architects need: householder FRAs for extensions and outbuildings in Flood Zones 2 and 3, FRAs for new dwellings and conversions, surface water drainage strategies to the National SuDS Standards, and detailed drainage design when you get to technical approval. All at a fixed fee agreed up front, with no VAT to add, so you can quote your client with confidence.
Having reviewed applications from inside a Lead Local Flood Authority, we know what the council's drainage officer and the Environment Agency actually look for — which is why our reports are written to satisfy them first time, and why an objection is rare.
What You Get
✓ A fixed-fee quote within 24 hours of sending us the site and drawings
✓ Reports delivered in 3–5 working days — sooner on request
✓ We work from your DXF / DWG and return drainage layouts that fit your plans
✓ Early design advice: floor levels, flood doors, SuDS space, discharge points
✓ Reports written to the current NPPF (August 2026), EA standing advice and the LLFA's own standards
✓ Support after issue — we deal with any consultee queries directly
How We Help Architects
Whatever stage the project is at, we fit in around it.
Feasibility & pre-app
A quick site check and honest advice before you commit — is an FRA needed, what will the council ask for, where will the drainage go?
Planning submission
Planning-ready FRAs and drainage strategies, proportionate to the scheme, with the drawings and calculations the LLFA expects.
Condition discharge & detailed design
Detailed drainage design, SuDS maintenance plans and condition submissions once permission is granted — on your drawings, to your programme.
Repeat clients
Many architects send us every flood-affected project they have. Same consultant, same standard, every time — and a priority turnaround for regular practices.
Which Works Need a Permit — and Which Don't
The permitting system is tiered. Getting your activity into the right tier first is what saves the time and cost.
Not every activity near water needs a full permit. Under the Environmental Permitting Regulations, a flood risk activity is either excluded (no permission needed), exempt (allowed, but must be registered with the Environment Agency), or requires a full Flood Risk Activity Permit. We work out exactly where your proposal sits before any application is made — so you don't pay for a permit you don't need, or get caught out by one you do.
When a permit is needed
Broadly, for works in, over, under or within 8 metres of a main river (16 m for a tidal main river), within 8 metres of a flood defence, or within the floodplain of a main river — including bridges, culverts, outfalls, walls, buildings, bank and bed works, and temporary works.
Main river vs ordinary watercourse
A permit only applies to a designated main river. Works to an ordinary watercourse are consented by the Lead Local Flood Authority instead, through Ordinary Watercourse Consent — so the first step is always confirming which one you're dealing with on the EA's main river map.
What we prepare
Where a permit is required we prepare and submit the application — location and works plans, a method statement, and any hydraulic modelling or flood risk information the EA asks for — and manage the EA liaison through to determination.
Frequently Asked Questions
Get a Free Quote
Free, no-obligation fixed-fee quote within 24 hours. All flood zones and LLFAs covered across England and Wales.
Get a Free QuoteOr contact us directly: 07826 705389 •