The Planning System and Flood Risk Management - Offaly County ...

18that also meet the objectives of proper planning and sustainabledevelopment.IV.Where, for wider reasons of sustainability, development has to belocated in areas at risk of flooding, an appropriate land use should beselected.V. The risks to development in flood-prone areas should be managed toensure that development is not subject to unacceptable risks.Planning GuidelinesVI.VII.A precautionary approach should be applied, where necessary, toreflect uncertainties in the flooding datasets and risk assessmenttechniques, and the ability to predict the future climate and performanceof existing flood defences. Development should be designed withcareful consideration of possible future changes in flood risk, includingthe effects of climate change and / or coastal erosion so that futureoccupants are not subject to unacceptable risks.Decisions on the location of development may be required beforedevelopment plans have been reviewed with the benefit of this guidanceor prior to the availability of flood maps. Pending a full review ofdevelopment plans in compliance with these guidelines, it would bepremature to make any decision to zone land or grant permission fordevelopment where flooding is a significant issue, based on previoushistory, without a rigorous assessment of flood risk in accordance withthese guidelines and application of the Justification Test.VIII. Land required for current and future flood management, e.g. conveyanceand storage of flood water and flood protection schemes, should bepro-actively identified on development plan and LAP maps andsafeguarded from development.IX.Flood risk to, and arising from, new development should be managedthrough location, layout and design incorporating sustainable drainagesystems (e.g. SuDS).X. Strategic environmental assessment (SEA) of Regional PlanningGuidelines, development plans and local area plans should includeflood risk as one of the key environmental criteria against which suchplans are assessed where flood risk has been identified. The SEAprocess provides an opportunity to assess and consider flood risk withrespect to other planning and environmental considerations and shouldbe used to show how the sequential approach to managing flood riskshas been executed.XI.It is intended to update the Planning Guidelines on SEA to reflect theneed for flooding to be identified, assessed and managed in thepreparation of SEA for development plans.