A flood risk assessment is required to ensure that all flooding risks have been considered when designing the drainage scheme.

What the LLFA expect to see  When submitting a Flood Risk Assessment (FRA), flood zone maps, surface water flood maps, critical drainage area (CDA) mapping, ground water flood maps and reservoir flood maps should be provided. In addition to this any information regarding relevant mitigation should be provided.

Within a Flood Risk Assessment (FRA), any risk of flooding that the development may be subject to should be made clear. This should include, fluvial flooding risk, reservoir flood risk, ground water flood risk and surface water flood risk. Appendix 5 shows the surface water flooding map for the entirety of Essex.

When creating the FRA, it should be checked to see if the development site is situated within a critical drainage area. This can be done by visiting the 'Check If You're At Risk Of Flooding' page on the Essex County Council’s website. If it is found to be within a CDA, it should be shown how the site does not make this risk worse for itself and nearby developments. More emphasis may need to be put on increasing offsite betterment.