Reducing flood risk in planning

Hampshire County Council is a statutory consultee on all major planning applications in Hampshire.

Our duty is defined in The Town and Country Planning (Development Management Procedure) (England) Order 2010.

Hampshire County Council’s role

The Council offers advice to the local planning authority (LPA) on surface water management strategies and Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS).

We offer pre-application advice in relation to surface water drainage. There is a charge for this service. See the Surface Water Drainage and SuDS document.

If you need more information on a site's flood risk complete the Surface Water Management Pre-Application Advice online form for either pre-application advice request or historic flood information request. There may be a charge for this information.

Surface Water Management Service for minor applications

As the Lead Local Flood Authority, we have no remit to provide surface water management advice for sites which have not been deemed "major" applications by the Local Planning Authority. As there are occasions when planners at the district authorities require more specialised advice on surface water management for smaller sites, especially those in areas that are liable to flooding or are particularly politically sensitive, we are able to offer a chargeable service.

This service would provide information and guidance on a specific site with regard to surface water flood risk and whether the proposed surface water management scheme appears to be appropriate for the development.

The charge for this service would be based upon our current charge of £320 + VAT, details of which can be found on the Surface Water Drainage and SuDS document, and would include attendance at one meeting (including expenses); written advice (max 3 hours) on information, data required and a proposed approach.

Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS)

New developments in the UK must consider SuDS as part of their surface water management strategy. The idea of SuDS is to encourage the most natural disposal of surface water back into the ground, as close to the source as possible.

• Susdrain: the community for those involved in delivering sustainable drainage systems
• The SuDS Manual (C753)
• Guidance on the construction of SuDS (C768)
• Tree Species Selection for Green Infrastructure (TDAG – 2018)

What you need for your planning application

A Surface Water Checklist Guidance document has been produced to advise developers and applicants and define the information we require to assess planning applications in relation to Surface Water Drainage. It has been developed with reference to the National Planning Policy Guidance as well as utilising best practice information as set out in the Non Statutory Technical Guidance and Ciria SuDS Manual (C753).

We have created a surface water check list for developers in order to assist them in providing the correct information in regard to surface water management and signposting where to find it. Please complete this check list and include with your Flood Risk Assessment when applying to your Local Planning Authority for planning permission.