Planning Policy Statement 25 "Development and Flood Risk" (PPS25) states that flood risk is a material planning consideration, and that it is the applicant’s responsibility to assess and mitigate that risk by carrying out a Flood Risk Assessment (FRA).

If a Flood Risk Assessment is not recieved a planning application may be treated as invalid whilst the assessment is prepared. The Local Planning Authority can refuse planning permission for development if a proposal is not submitted with a suitable Flood Risk Assessment.

Guidance on how to prepare a suitable FRA can be found in "Assessing and managing flood risk in development - code of practice" - BS 8533:2011 and should be used in conjunction with the Council's Strategic Flood Risk Assessment (SFRA)

The SFRA has been produced as recommended by government policy PPS25. It provides concise information on flood risk issues to assist planners in the preparation of the Local Development Framework (LDF) and the assessment of future planning applications. It assesses the different levels of flood risk in the York Authority area and maps these to assist with statutory land use planning.

It is also intended to be used by the general public and those wishing to propose developments, as a guide to the approach that Local Planning Authorities will follow in order to take flood risk issues into account in a sustainable manner.

To find out which flood risk area their property or site lies in applicants can visit the Strategic Flood Risk Assessment page and download figures 10 to 10c.