Written Statement: Publication of Technical Advice Note 15

Today, I have published updated planning advice on flooding through a new Technical Advice Note 15 (TAN). This TAN has been significantly revised after two separate public consultations. We have taken the feedback from these consultations into account and made adjustments to the TAN to provide appropriate flexibility for regeneration projects, while also continuing to acknowledge the increased flood risk due to climate change. Recent storms have brought into sharp focus the devastating effect flooding can have on the lives and businesses of people across Wales, and it is essential that the planning system fully recognises the likelihood and potential impacts of future flooding events. The TAN I have published today relates to Local Development Plans (LDP), planning applications determined by Local Planning Authorities (LPA) and decisions made by Welsh Ministers. It seeks to strike an appropriate balance which allows communities to change and regenerate whilst also placing the consideration of flood risk high on the agenda. The TAN requires LPAs when preparing their LDP to undertake a full Strategic Flood Consequences Assessment (SFCA) and to use the outputs of these studies to inform land allocations in their LDPs. It is the role of the SFCA to identify flood risk from a variety of sources and to provide critical information to make informed decisions about land use development. 

The new TAN places increased emphasis on the LDP as the mechanism for both allocating sites but also identifying flood mitigation measures and assessing risk. The Development Plan Manual requires that LPAs prepare an Infrastructure Plan to support their LDP and this must consider the consideration of flood mitigation measures. 

The TAN takes a risk based approach using the Flood Map for Planning to balance the likelihood of flooding events against the vulnerability of development. In essence the higher the likelihood of flooding and the greater the vulnerability of development the more restrictive the policy becomes. Using the flood zones in the Flood Map for Planning the TAN provides advice on the suitability of development proposals in each of the various zones. Following feedback from the public consultation the TAN differentiates between consideration of new development which is defined as development occurring on green field sites and redevelopment which is defined as occurring on brownfield sites. 

Opportunities for new development need careful consideration as greenfield sites not only contribute to general wellbeing but can also be important resources for the effective management of flood waters. 

The TAN does not support new highly vulnerable development in the areas of highest flood risk (flood zone 3). Today we have issued a new Notification Direction which requires any LPA which is minded to approve new highly vulnerable development in flood zone 3, where it is not on brownfield land, to notify the Welsh Ministers before any planning consent can be issued. Alongside this we are also making changes to two procedure orders to ensure continuation of the existing requirement for Natural Resources Wales (NRW) to provide advice on planning applications and Developments of National Significance proposed in areas of flood risk (from rivers and the sea). This will ensure developers, LPAs and the Welsh Government continue to have a legal basis for consulting with (NRW) on planning applications and proposed Developments of National Significance in areas of flood risk.

I recognise that the publication of new guidance may have impacts on the processing of planning applications so there will be a transitional period for the implementation of the TAN. Planning applications which were submitted and registered before the publication of the new TAN will continue to be assessed against the previous version, however any development proposal, including those at pre-application stage not yet registered with the LPA will need to use the newly published version of the TAN. NRW will keep the old Development Advice Maps accessible on their website for a period of 8 weeks after which time they will be taken down leaving only the Flood Map for Planning as the seminal source of flood risk mapping for Wales.