Environment Agency Email

23/07/25

Thank you for your enquiry in regard to your proposed development. As part of our free service, we undertake a basic environmental constraint check of your site and provide the attached guidance note which outlines our expectations as a statutory consultee in the planning process. This should support you in planning and designing your development proposal.

Our preliminary opinion

Based on a high-level mapping exercise undertaken of your development site (as per the geographic information you have provided to us), along with any information you have provided with us on the nature of the development, we have been able to provide the below preliminary advice. We have not undertaken a detailed review of any technical documents as part of this preliminary opinion. If you would like any further advice concerning technical issues for this proposal it will need to be as part of our charged service. Further information on this service is set out below, and within the attached guidance note.

Our basic constraint check has identified the following environmental issues on your site:

• The site is within Flood Zone 3 and falls within our breach modelling.

Based on this, the proposed development would be covered by our national Flood Risk Standing advice. This means that at a planning application stage we would not comment on the application directly. The development would, however, require a flood risk assessment. Our guidance on how to prepare a flood risk assessment can be viewed in the link below. Preparing a flood risk assessment: standing advice - GOV.UK

If you would like for us to do a more in depth review of any prepared documents we are able to do so under out charged advice service.

Our charged service

As stated above, we have not undertaken a detailed review of your pre-application enquiry. We therefore cannot confirm at this stage whether the proposed development is acceptable to us. We do have a voluntary charged-for service where we can provide more detailed pre-application advice to the applicant. As part of this service, we can provide a dedicated project manager to act as a single point of contact to coordinate any problems, data requests or review technical documents. Should you wish us to undertake a detailed review of the proposal (or any subsequent documentation) or want further advice, we can do this as part of our charged service.

Further engagement at the pre-application stage will speed up our formal response to your planning application and provide you with certainty as to what our response to your planning application will be. It should also result in a better quality and more environmentally sensitive development. As part of our charged advice service we will provide a dedicated project manager to act as a single point of contact to help resolve any problems.

We currently charge £115 per hour/per person plus VAT. We will provide you with an estimated cost for any further discussions or review of documents. The terms of our charged for service can be found on GOV.UK.

Final comments

Please note this response is based on the information you have made available at this time. It is based on current national planning policy, associated legislation and environmental data / information. If any of these elements change in the future then we may need to reconsider our position.

We also recommend that you consult with the relevant Local Planning Authority (LPA) to ensure that your planning application meets their requirements.

We trust that the above information is of assistance. If you would like further detailed advice, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Best regards,

Planning Advisor – Kent and South London Sustainable Places
Environment Agency | 2 Marsham Street, Seacole Building, London, SW1P 4DF