Planning for Floods: an analysis of planning law and planning practice in the management of flood risk and flood mitigation.

This project will examine the use of existing tools in planning law and planning practice for addressing and minimising flood risk, and for implementing flood mitigation. It will execute four case studies of the use of planning policy and planning powers, by local planning bodies in areas that have experienced serious flood risk and flood management issues: Birmingham, Carlisle, Worcester and York. Each of these has experienced significant flooding in recent years and represents a self-contained geographical unit with relevant local development plans in place. The project will examine the use of planning powers by each planning body to address flood risk and mitigation, including (for example) planning conditions, planning obligations and the community infrastructure levy. It will also conduct empirical research with carefully selected research samples in each case study, including residents, planning officers, developers and community groups. The project will be unique, in that it will present an evidence based study of the use of planning powers to address flood risk and flood mitigation. This will have wide potential impact, in improving the better implementation of planning policy, and stimulate the development of new and improved approaches to flood mitigation and flood risk management.