Strategic Flood Risk Assessment

A Strategic Flood Risk Assessment (SFRA) gives an overview of areas that may be susceptible to flooding.

The SFRA is part of the Development Plan evidence base. It helps to inform the selection of sites for future development. It considers not only the risk of flooding from the River Wear, the River Tees and their tributaries, but also an overview of flood risk from coastal waters, groundwater and from surface water run-off. It also assesses the likelihood of flooding within County Durham today, and as the risk of flooding increases over time due to climate change.

The document consists of information and county-wide flood maps on all sources of flooding. This will enable us to avoid vulnerable development being located within areas at risk of flooding.

Water Cycle Study

A critical component of the infrastructure required to support new development is associated with water; the provision of clean water, the safe disposal of wastewater and protection from flooding.

The Water Cycle Study is part of the Development Plan evidence base, and looks at the balance between development proposals, infrastructure provision and environmental requirements. It looks to identify potential solutions to address any issues by bringing all the available information together, from a range of interested people and organisations, to help make better, more integrated, risk-based planning decisions.

Local Flood Risk Management Strategy

As the lead Local Flood Authority, we produce a Local Flood Risk Management Strategy (PDF, 897 KB) for the county in line with the Flood and Water Management Act 2010. The Strategy shows how all the risk management authorities and other partners in County Durham work together to manage flood risk.