How to ask for informal flood advice
Before submitting a formal planning application, you can request informal, site-specific advice from us on flood risk and surface water drainage arrangements. This service is separate from our formal pre-application advice.
Apply online for informal pre-application flood advice
When to expect your informal advice
We aim to provide a response within 21 days of receiving all required information, including the completed form, supporting documents, and payment.
The informal advice we offer
This service provides early-stage advice and includes a basic flood risk assessment based on a standard template. For more detailed requests, please use our formal pre-application advice service.
While we may consult with other organisations during the pre-application process, we expect you to seek your own technical or expert advice and contact relevant consultees directly. The informal advice provided before a formal application will not include consultation with other services.
Our goal is to offer clear and consistent guidance on proposed developments. Please remember that the pre-application process does not represent a formal decision. Advice is given without prejudice to any formal consideration of a subsequent planning application.
We do not review Flood Risk Assessments (FRAs) or detailed surface water strategies through this service; these should be requested through our formal pre-application advice service.
If you apply for both informal and formal pre-application advice, information from our team may be repeated. The formal pre-application advice, managed by the planning team, may contain similar information to the informal advice, with additional details based on an assessment of the submitted information.