Preliminary Flood Risk Assessment - Print version

As a Lead Local Flood Authority, Coventry City Council was required by The Flood Risk Regulations (2009) to prepare a Preliminary Flood Risk Assessment [https://www.coventry.gov.uk/downloads/download/1594/coventry_pfra_final_report] (PFRA). Coventry’s PFRA was published in 2011 and then reviewed in 2017, in accordance with the requirements of the regulations.

The PFRA is an exercise to identify areas where there is significant flood risk, known as Flood Risk Areas.

The PFRA covers the risk of flooding from local sources, namely Ordinary Watercourses, surface water (overland runoff) and groundwater. It does not directly consider flooding from main rivers, such as the River Sowe and parts of the River Sherbourne.  The Environment Agency is still responsible for flooding from main rivers.

The PFRA report [http://www.coventry.gov.uk/downloads/download/1594/coventry_pfra_final_report] looks at past flooding and where future flooding might occur across the City and the consequences that might have to people, properties and the environment, including cultural heritage and ecology. The report helps us to develop our strategy to manage local flooding in Coventry.

Flood Risk Areas in Coventry

A method to identify flood risk areas (FRAs) based on the current Risk of Flooding from Surface Water (RoFSW) maps and population density has been used for the purposes of the 2017 PFRA review. This method has identified a large swathe of Coventry as a FRA and includes over 140,000 addresses within the city. The localised surface water flood risk varies significantly across the FRA and therefore multiple sources of data should be used when identifying areas for more detailed study and hydraulic analysis.

As a consequence of this risk, Coventry City Council, considers this threat to the health and wellbeing of these residents seriously. This will be considered as we develop our respective Local Flood Risk Management Strategies.

Effects of the Preliminary Flood Risk Assessment on insurance

The information in the Preliminary Flood Risk Assessment is not suitable to assess risk to individual properties in all parts of the City in detail as we cannot know all details about all properties, for example how high the floor level is above ground level and how water might get in to houses through doors, windows and airbricks. Insurers can therefore only use the information as a first stage in assessing the flood risk for a general location.

More information about flood risk and insurance can be found at the GOV.UK website [https://www.gov.uk/prepare-for-flooding/get-insurance].

Preliminary Flood Risk Assessment documents

The PFRA was undertaken as a broadscale and strategic flood risk assessment of local sources of flooding and is not intended to be used to identify individual properties that may be at risk of flooding or provide details of where and when flood risk management works will be undertaken.

Local knowledge of past flooding is an important source of information which can tell us more about how accurate the flood mapping we hold is. If you have any questions about the mapping or have information about past flooding in the area please e-mail us.

Flood Risk Regulations and Preliminary Flood Risk Assessments

You can find further information about The Flood Risk Regulations and Preliminary Flood Risk Assessments at the GOV.UK website [https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/preliminary-flood-risk-assessments-and-flood-risk-areas/preliminary-flood-risk-assessments-and-flood-risk-areas].