Flood risk management and planning policy in a time of policy transition: the case of the Wapshott Road Planning Inquiry, Surrey, England

Abstract

This paper focuses on an English case study example of decision making on development and flood risk. It was carried out through qualitative document analysis and 13 in-depth interviews with flood risk professionals and others in the Lower Thames Valley. It illustrates the recent shift in policy in England from flood defence to a flood risk management approach with an increased emphasis on spatial planning and development control. It shows that decision makers take time to come to terms with new government policy. Despite the more prescriptive government guidance on development and flood risk in Planning Policy Guidance 25 and later documents, there remains scope for disagreements, for example, over what constitutes ‘safe’ development in flood risk areas. Other sustainability objectives can still weigh heavily against flood risk in local decision making. The potential contributions of modelling, and new visualisation techniques in the flood risk management and planning context are considered.