Environment Minister publishes statutory flood guidelines

The Green Party Leader and Environment Minister John Gormley today published statutory planning guidelines on The Planning System and Flood Risk Management, which are aimed at ensuring a more consistent, rigorous and systematic approach to the avoidance and minimisation of potential future flood risk and to fully incorporate flood risk assessment and management into the planning system.

These guidelines were issued as a consultation draft for public consultation in the latter part of last year, and Minister Gormley expressed his thanks to the numerous public and private bodies who made valuable submissions and worthwhile contributions to the drafting process. The new guidelines which have been prepared in response to the recommendations of the National Flood Policy Review Group are focused on providing guidance on the comprehensive consideration of flood risk, both in preparing future regional plans, development plans and local area plans, and in determining applications for planning permission in line with the principles of proper planning and sustainable development. They also address environmental considerations including the need to manage the potential impacts of climate change.

Publishing the finalised Guidelines, Minister Gormley was pleased to note that the Guidelines have been widely welcomed by regional and planning authorities and by professional bodies and the general public during the consultation process, “The Guidelines provide for best practice and a sound basis on which planners, developers and their agents, and individuals can ensure flood risk is taken fully into account throughout the planning process and properly managed thereafter, to ensure into the future that our built environment takes proper account of the potentially devastating risk posed by flooding to people, property and the environment”, the Minister outlined.

The new Guidelines are aimed at ensuring that development vulnerable to flooding will only be permitted by planning authorities in areas at high or even moderate risk of flooding in exceptional circumstances where decisions are based on clear and transparent criteria set out in the Guidelines. The Guidelines require the planning system at national, regional and local levels to:

• Avoid development in areas at risk of flooding, particularly in floodplains, unless there are demonstrable, wider sustainability grounds that justify appropriate development and where the flood risk can be reduced or managed to an acceptable level without increasing flood risk elsewhere;

• Adopt a sequential approach to flood risk management when assessing the location for new development based on avoidance, reduction and mitigation of flood risk; and

• Incorporate flood risk assessment into the process of making decisions on planning applications and planning appeals.

The Guidelines are a comprehensive statement of good planning practice and also act as a key step towards adapting to the inevitable impacts of climate change. While our understanding of these impacts is still at an early stage and significant uncertainties remain to be resolved, research and indeed anectdotal experiences with extreme weather events clearly demonstrate that Ireland's climate is already being affected by the impacts of climate change and these will increase in the coming decades and are likely to be felt in every sector of the economy. Increased frequency and magnitude of flooding due to heavier rainfall, sea level rises and storm surges are among the most serious threats for Ireland. Addressing flood risk identification, assessment and management through the planning system in these guidelines is a key response.

Minister Mansergh welcomed the Guidelines as another significant step in the implementation of the national flood policy, “The OPW and its partners have a number of important and substantial work programmes in place that are reducing the flood risk that people currently experience as well as making advance provision for better protection from the anticipated effects of climate change. We must above all ensure that we do all that we can to avoid creating new risks, and the Guidelines will facilitate the planning authorities in making sure that new development is as safe from flooding as it can be.”

The new Guidelines are being issued to planning authorities and An Bord Pleanála under Section 28 of the 2000 Planning and Development Act, which requires them to have proper regard to the principles and procedures of these guidelines in carrying out their functions.

Minister Gormley concluded by saying “We have to adapt to the realities of climate change impacts; we must protect ourselves by adapting the way we do business; we must ensure planning authorities, developers and their agents, individuals seeking planning permission, and major infrastructural providers are all properly equipped with the principles and practical methodologies as set out in these new guidelines. This will ensure we begin proofing ourselves now from future exposure to the impacts of flooding by fully integrating the consideration of flood risk into the planning process.”