Flood management consideration in
sustainability appraisal and strategic
environmental assessment in England and
Scotland
Hayes, SJ, Barker, A and Jones, CE
http://dx.doi.org/10.1142/S1464333214500252
Title Flood management consideration in sustainability appraisal and strategic
environmental assessment in England and Scotland
Authors Hayes, SJ, Barker, A and Jones, CE
Publication title Journal of Environmental Assessment Policy and Management
Publisher World Scientific Publishing Co
Type Article
USIR URL This version is available at: http://usir.salford.ac.uk/id/eprint/50505/
Published Date 2014
USIR is a digital collection of the research output of the University of Salford. Where copyright
permits, full text material held in the repository is made freely available online and can be read,
downloaded and copied for non-commercial private study or research purposes. Please check the
manuscript for any further copyright restrictions.
For more information, including our policy and submission procedure, please
contact the Repository Team at: library-research@salford.ac.uk.
Journal of Environmental Assessment Policy and Management
FLOOD MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATION IN SUSTAINABILITY APPRAISAL AND
STRATEGIC ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT IN ENGLAND AND SCOTLAND
--Manuscript Draft--
Manuscript Number: JEAPM-D-13-00026R1
Full Title: FLOOD MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATION IN SUSTAINABILITY APPRAISAL AND
STRATEGIC ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT IN ENGLAND AND SCOTLAND
Article Type: Research Paper
Keywords: strategic environmental assessment; Sustainability Appraisal; flood risk management
Corresponding Author: Samuel Hayes, PhD
UNITED KINGDOM
Corresponding Author Secondary
Information:
Corresponding Author's Institution:
Corresponding Author's Secondary
Institution:
First Author: Samuel Hayes, PhD
First Author Secondary Information:
Order of Authors: Samuel Hayes, PhD
Adam Barker
Carys Jones, PhD
Order of Authors Secondary Information:
Abstract: The impact of flood events in the UK has drawn attention to limitations associated with
traditional flood defence regimes. In recognition of this there has been a significant
level of advocacy for a systems based approach which assumes a greater role for
spatial planning. This paper considers the extent to which strategic assessment
contributes toward the consideration of flooding within spatial planning. The paper
draws on four cases from England and Scotland. Specific attention is given to the
nature of flood management approaches considered in assessment and the
recommendations presented. The research indicates that assessment practice is
dominated by probabilistic calculations of flood risk and typically replicates national
policy and guidance on flood management. It is argued that there exists potential for
assessment to foster more nuanced and tailored consideration of flood management
by including multiple perspectives, such as management of the whole system, risk and
vulnerability, resilience and adaptation.
Response to Reviewers: See separate file.
Powered by Editorial Manager® and ProduXion Manager® from Aries Systems Corporation
FLOOD MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATION IN SUSTAINABILITY APPRAISAL
AND STRATEGIC ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT IN ENGLAND AND
SCOTLAND
SAMUEL HAYES
University of Liverpool, Department of Geography and Planning, School of Environmental Sciences,
University of Liverpool, 74 Bedford Street South, Liverpool L69 7ZQ, UK
samuel.hayes@liverpool.ac.uk
ADAM BARKER
University of Manchester, School of Environment and Development, Humanities Bridgeford Street
Building, University of Manchester, Oxford Road, Manchester M13 9PL, UK
adam.barker@manchester.ac.uk
CARYS JONES
University of Manchester, School of Environment and Development, Humanities Bridgeford Street
Building, University of Manchester, Oxford Road, Manchester M13 9PL, UK
carys.jones@manchester.ac.uk
The impact of flood events in the UK has drawn attention to limitations associated with traditional
flood defence regimes. In recognition of this there has been a significant level of advocacy for a
systems based approach which assumes a greater role for spatial planning. This paper considers the
extent to which strategic assessment contributes toward the consideration of flooding within spatial
planning. The paper draws on four cases from England and Scotland. Specific attention is given to
the nature of flood management approaches considered in assessment and the recommendations
presented. The research indicates that assessment practice is dominated by probabilistic calculations
of flood risk and typically replicates national policy and guidance on flood management. It is argued
that there exists potential for assessment to foster more nuanced and tailored consideration of flood
management by including multiple perspectives, such as management of the whole system, risk and
vulnerability, resilience and adaptation.
Key words: Strategic Environmental Assessment, Sustainability Appraisal, flood risk management
Manuscript
Click here to download Manuscript: Revised SA_SEA Flood risk paper submitted 30_04_14.docx
Introduction
Over the last decade Europe has witnessed a significant increase in the number of adverse impacts
generated by natural hazards. Along with storm activities, flooding is currently one of the most
damaging and costly hazard-related events (European Environment Agency, 2010; Greiving et al.,
2006; Kundzewicz et al., 2012; Wilby et al., 2008). Data provided by EM-DAT (2010) show that
between 1998 and 2009 flooding in Europe led to direct economic losses of over EUR 60 billion. The
UK is one of several areas within Europe which have been particularly adversely affected by flooding
in recent years. Although it is too early to assess the consequences of the winter floods of 2013-14 in
Southern England, experiences drawn from the flood events of 2007 serve to highlight the scale of
impact associated with major flooding events. Damage caused by the 2007 floods alone cost the UK
over £3 billion whilst 7,000 members of the public had to be rescued and thirteen people lost their
lives (Hardaker & Collier, 2013). Whilst there is growing concensus that such events are likely to be,
at least in part, a result of climate change (Evans et al., 2008; Feyen et al., 2012; Rosenzweig et al.,
2007), it is also apparent that flood events have been exacerbated by prevailing social and institutional
responses towards natural hazards (Baan & Klijn, 2004; Wheater & Evans, 2009).
One of the main failings of traditional approaches to flood management in the UK has been an over-
emphasis on project-by-project intervention and a belief in the ability to defend against hazards
through structural means (Johnson et al., 2007). The consequence of this has been the development of
overly fragmented approaches to management and a failure to appreciate the interactions which exist
within flooding systems (Government Office for Science, 2004; Hall & Solomatine, 2008; Samuels et
al., 2006). This has proven to be a particular problem in urban areas where the linkages between
pluvial flooding, storm water and urban drainage processes have not been adequately addressed by
design solutions (Dawson et al., 2008; Douglas et al., 2010; Richards et al., 2008). It has also done
little to encourage wider appreciation of the inequalities associated with flooding. Several authors
have indicated that certain groups within society, notably the elderly and those in lower income
brackets, are especially vulnerable during flooding episodes (Baan & Klijn, 2004; Hall et al., 2003;
Klijn et al., 2004; Walker & Burningham, 2011; Werritty et al., 2007). Yet despite this, dominant
interpretations of flood management have not sufficiently accounted for issues of ‘fairness’ and
‘justice’ amongst possible victims of flooding (Johnson et al., 2007).
These issues have been further compounded by competing institutional agendas. Local Authorities,
under pressure to meet national housing targets, have frequently gone against the advice of the
Environment Agency regarding urbanisation of floodplain locations (Howe & White, 2004; Wheater
& Evans, 2009). Research by the Committee on Climate Change (CCC) (2012) highlighted that
21,000 homes and businesses are built annually within floodplain areas, accounting for 13% of all
new development. Not only does this form of development increase household vulnerability, it serves
to intensify run-off and reduce the capacity for effective flood water storage (White & Richards,
2007).
In response to an awareness of these limitations, the last few years have witnessed a notable shift in
attitudes towards flood management policy in the UK. Both the Pitt review (Evans et al., 2008) and
the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) (2005) have drawn attention to
the need to achieve a shift from incremental models based on economic costing, to a risk based
approach centred on the strategic coordination of an integrated portfolio of responses. In parallel with
emerging approaches elsewhere in Europe (see for example Klijn et al., 2004; Samuels et al., 2006),
this shift is characterised by the transition from a paradigm based on ‘keeping water out’ to one based
on ‘living with water’ (Howe & White, 2004; Johnson & Priest, 2008).
In response to this change, there has been a significant level of advocacy for the role that spatial
planning can make in driving forward the new approach. In particular, a number of authors have
commented on the potential of the planning system to act as a key mechanism for portfolio
coordination and management (Greiving et al., 2006; Werritty et al., 2007; Wheater & Evans, 2009;
Wilson, 2007). As the planning system is charged with the responsibility for establishing strategic
visions for sustainable development across discrete spatial scales, it is ideally placed to take a lead
role in the assessment and management of flood system interactions and needs. Such an approach can
not only assist in steering development to less vulnerable locations, but it can identify areas suitable
for water movement and storage (Pottier et al., 2005; Vis et al., 2003; White & Richards, 2007). This
latter contribution is a central component of what White (2010) referred to as the transition to the
‘absorbent city’. Here it is argued that the city is no longer to be protected from flooding but that it
instead becomes a central component of the flooding system.
The contribution that spatial planning can make toward the management of flood risk has recently
been formalised in England through the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) (DCLG, 2012)
and in Scotland through the draft Scottish Planning Policy (Scottish Government, 2013a). In each
case, policy provisions require Local Authorities to account for flood risk within spatial plans and to
establish policies dedicated to the management of flood risk from all sources. Under the terms of EU
Directive 2001/42/EC (SEA Directive), these plans are ultimately subject to strategic environmental
assessment (SEA). Carter et al. (2009) have noted that the relationship between SEA and the spatial
planning process affords significant potential for enhancing the contribution of spatial planning to
