AD2 Task 2: Assess opportunities to reduce risk and improve resilience
Sub tasks
- Area/Catchment scale: Assess opportunities for new/improved flood risk management infrastructure
- All scales: Assess the capacity for green infrastructure including sustainable drainage systems
- All scales: Provide an indication of the location and extent of potential flood storage areas
- All scales: Assess opportunities to protect and enhance biodiversity
- Neighbourhood/Building scale: Opportunities to promote flood resilient measures
Approach
You should now have an understanding of the probability of a flood event and the adaptive capacity of people and assets, including biodiversity, in your area. This stage is about scoping adaptive measures that will help reduce risk and improve resilience. It may be helpful to be explicit about the scale (see defining spatial scale) you are considering as opportunities will vary considerably across different spatial scales.
Chapter 4.2 of TCPA’s Climate Change Adaptation by Design Guide will help you scope adaptive measures to manage flood risk and provides a number of case studies for reference.
Information on resistance and resilience is available from Communities and Local Government in their document ‘Improving the Flood Performance of New Buildings - Flood Resilient Construction’. This document is due to be incorporated into ‘Approved Document Part C of Building Regulations’ when it is next revised. Section 2.2.1 ‘Managing the risk of flooding’ in ‘Building a better environment’ is a guide for developers, with case studies that may also be useful.
http://www.planningportal.gov.uk/uploads/br/flood_performance.pdf
http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/static/documents/1_GETH1106BLNE-e-e(1).pdf
When you are considering the opportunities to reduce flood risk and improve resilience you should also try to articulate the multiple benefits of the adaptive measures you are investigating. This will be important in the policy development stage and there may be crossovers with other policy areas such as pollution, green infrastructure, biodiversity and open space which should be acknowledged. For example, sustainable drainage systems are recognised to have the following potential benefits:
- Reducing flood risk
- Minimising diffuse pollution
- Maintaining or restoring natural flow regimes
- Improving water resources
- Enhancing amenity.
For guidance on the development of green infrastructure at a strategic and site specific scale please refer to Natural England’s guidance which includes a range of case studies.
Consideration of the potential of green infrastructure overlaps with sub-tasks for other policy objectives, including water availability and quality management and managing high temperatures.
For guidance on how to develop your evidence base into policy see translating evidence into policy. This includes some examples of potential adaptation measures. Below is a case study for managing flood risk. For further resources and examples of good practice please see the good practice and case studies section.
Long Run Farm, Taunton
Work undertaken by Project Taunton at Long Run Farm provides an excellent example of how flood risk management can be delivered alongside green space creation. Completed in 2008, the project has increased the flood storage capacity of area, enabling regeneration of Taunton town centre, whilst also delivering an accessible public green space, cycle paths and areas for wildlife.
