Flood Risk & Drainage for Developers
From site feasibility to condition discharge — flood risk and drainage advice that protects your programme, your layout and your margin.
Know the Flood and Drainage Position Before You Commit
The costliest flood and drainage problems on a development are the ones discovered late: a site that needs an FRA nobody budgeted for, a layout with no room for the attenuation the LLFA will insist on, a discharge point that turns out not to exist. We work with developers and landowners from the earliest stage to establish the real position — flood risk from every source, what the council will require, where the water can go and how much space it needs — so the scheme is designed around it rather than patched afterwards.
Under the August 2026 NPPF more sites need a Flood Risk Assessment, and every scheme now has to deliver SuDS designed to the National Standards with maintenance secured for its lifetime. We handle all of it: the FRA, the surface water drainage strategy, the greenfield run-off and attenuation calculations, detailed drainage design for technical approval, SuDS maintenance plans, and the condition discharge submissions that follow permission.
Because we've sat on the LLFA side of the table, we know what gets a drainage strategy approved first time — and we price the whole job as a fixed fee so there are no surprises for you either.
What We Do For Developers
✓ Site feasibility: flood risk from all sources, FRA requirement, Sequential Test position, discharge options and SuDS land-take
✓ Combined FRA and drainage strategy for planning, with calculations and drawings the LLFA expects
✓ Greenfield run-off, attenuation and flow-control design to the National SuDS Standards
✓ Detailed drainage design, SuDS maintenance and management plans, and construction surface water plans
✓ Condition discharge submissions and liaison with the LLFA's drainage officer through to approval
✓ Section 106 / 104 / 185 sewer applications and pre-development enquiries with the water company
At Every Stage of the Development
One consultant across the whole project, so nothing gets lost between stages.
Land & feasibility
Before you commit to a layout or a land price — the flood and drainage constraints, the likely SuDS land-take and the risks to viability.
Planning
Combined FRA and surface water drainage strategy, proportionate to the scheme and written to the LLFA's own standards and the current NPPF.
Technical approval & conditions
Detailed drainage design, calculations, drawings and maintenance plans to discharge the drainage conditions and satisfy the adopting authorities.
Objections & refusals
If a scheme is already in trouble on drainage, we review the objection, fix the evidence and deal with the officer directly.
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
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Free, no-obligation fixed-fee quote within 24 hours. All flood zones and LLFAs covered across England and Wales.
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