JBA have completed Strategic Flood Risk Assessments (SFRAs) for over 70 Local Planning Authorities nationally and overseas; this has involved developing policies and guidance, and working with planners and councillors to achieve a sustainable development solution at town and county scales. 

Strategic Flood Risk Assessments need to be based on sound evidence and through compilation of the best available datasets.  As the Catchment Flood Risk Assessment and Management (CFRAM) programme advances, higher accuracy and more detailed map datasets will become available for those towns included in the CFRAM assessment process.  However, there has been, and will continue to be the need to work with a mix of data sources to ensure an appropriate representation of flood risk.  This will range from historical flood extents, flood relief scheme reports, bespoke in-house modelling, PFRA outlines, local knowledge and site walkover validation.  JBA have invaluable experience in combining data from various sources to produce a robust foundation for any Strategic Flood Risk Assessment.

However, production for flood zone maps is only the beginning of the SFRA process, and the value that JBA brings to a forward planning team is the ability to interpret the datasets and formulate recommendations for the future development of the plan area.

The JBA team offers a number of significant benefits to Strategic Flood Risk Assessment:

• An understanding of the links between Strategic Flood Risk Assessment and Spatial Planning;
• A mix of experienced staff that combines flood risk management, engineering and planning in the correct proportions.
• Planning / Risk Management Advice – JBA provide recognised excellence in flood risk and planning, delivering advice to government, local authority and individual clients;
• Understanding – the team is well placed to understand what can be done, and how best practise and the latest technologies and data can be applied.
• Project experience – our teams have worked on numerous SFRAs since the inception of the Planning Guidelines, and our reports have informed the development plan processes of Clare, South Tipperary, Cork, Meath and Carlow Councils, amongst others.

JBA are leading consultants in the production of Catchment Flood Management Plans which are design to investigate flooding issues and identify long term policies for managing flood risk including the consequences of climate change and land use.