The development of the Flood Plans has included a robust process of assessment to determine the proposed measures to address the flood risk shown in the Flood Maps.
This has involved four key steps:
| Step | Description |
| 1. Screening of Measures |
Developing a list of all relevant measures, unique to each Community, that could help to reduce the flooding. Typical measures include defence walls, reducing the amount of flow from the surrounding area, upstream storage areas, flood warning systems, larger bridges or culverts, river deepening, or improving the resilience to flood waters of buildings. The measures that are relevant for each Community depends on the type, depth and speed of flooding, where the flood waters come from, and how they spread. |
| 2. Developing Options | Developing a number of ‘Options’ for dealing with the flood risk, comprising appropriate and sensible combinations of the measures determined at Step 1, using best engineering judgement about how the different measures may work together. |
| 3. Appraising Options |
Scoring and ranking the Options determined at Step 2 for each Community using a system known as a Multi-Criteria Analysis (MCA). This is a fair scoring system that takes account of what is most important within each Community (for example, the risk to people, local economic activity, community facilities, infrastructure, the environment and the cultural heritage of the area). |
| 4. Identification of Preferred Options | Identifying the preferred Option for managing the flood problems in each Community, using the MCA methodology described above, and informed by economic and environmental assessments, and the views and opinions of the local community. |
In conjunction with professional judgement and local consultation through a series of local Public Consultation Days, these analyses have informed the decision on the proposed measures that are set out in the Flood Plans.
Similar approaches would typically have been undertaken to determine some of the physical measures developed under parallel or previous projects. Some measures, typically those that are applicable for all areas covered by the Flood Plan (such as Sustainable Planning & Development and effective Emergency Response Planning) have also been included to represent existing national policies, and what should be done to enhance the implementation of these policies, taking into account the information and Flood Maps prepared through the CFRAM Programme.
