Strategic Flood Risk Assessment

Published: Tuesday August 4, 2026

A Strategic Flood Risk Assessment (SFRA) has been carried out for Swale Borough Council by JBA Consulting.

The SFRA will be used to:

• inform the plan-making process, in particular the choice of allocations, following the sequential approach
• assist Development Management decisions
• assist Developers in the preparation of Flood Risk Assessments
• help prioritise and target improvements to flood defences and prepare for flood emergencies

What does the SFRA comprise?

The main report and the Appendices can be found here:

Swale Borough Council Level 1 SFRA - Main Report v5 July 2026 (PDF 3.83MB)

Appendix A - Historic Flooding v1 November 2025 (PDF 3.3MB)

Appendix B - Watercourses v2 April 2026 (PDF 3.84MB)

Appendix C.1 - Present Day Flooding Risk from Rivers and Sea - Flood Zones v3 April 2026 (PDF 13.39MB)

Appendix C.2 Present Day Flooding Risk from Rivers (detailed river models v2 February 2026 (PDF 3.58MB)

Appendix C3 Present Day Flood Risk from the Sea - North Kent Coast model v1 November 2026 (PDF 3.32MB)

Appendix D1 Future Flood Risk from Rivers and Sea v2, April 2026 (PDF 12.06MB)

Appendix D2 Future Flood Risk from Rivers detailed river models v1 November 2025 (PDF 3.47MB) 

Appendix D3 Future Flood Risk from the Sea - North Kent Coast model v2 February 2026 (PDF 3.43MB)

Appendix E Risk of Flooding from Surface Water v1 November 2025 (PDF 61.43MB)

Appendix F JBA Groundwater Flood Map v1 November 2025 (PDF 3.98MB)

Appendix G Risk of Flooding from Reservoirs v2 April 2026 (PDF 9.58MB)

Appendix H1 Flood Defences v2 April 2026 (PDF 3.13MB)

Appendix H2 EA Flood Defences Types v2 April 2026 (PDF 35.37MB)

Appendix H3 EA Flood Defences Standard of Protection v2 April 2026 (PDF 37.71MB)

Appendix H4  EA Flood Defence Condition v2 April 2026 (PDF 38.76MB)

Appendix I Flood Alert and Flood Warning Areas v1 November 2025 (PDF 3.29MB)

Appendix J1 Coastal Change Management Area Methodology v4 June 2026 (PDF 3.29MB)

Appendix J2 Coastal Change Management Area v4 June 2026 (PDF 3.89MB)

Appendix K Swale SFRA Site Screening v4 July 2026 (Excel 378kb)

Appendix L Sequential Test Dataset Guidance Document v12 July 2026 (PDF 329kb)

Appendix M Data Sources v3 April 2026 (PDF 119kb)

Appendix N MEAS Contribution Zones v2 July 2026 (PDF 5.78MB)

SFRA Maps

With the exception of Appendix F, the SFRA maps are available on the council's public facing interactive map.

Swale Level 2 SFRA

A Level 2 SFRA is a detailed assessment of flood risk, required when there are potential Local Plan allocations that can only be placed in areas of medium or high flood risk. It will be used to inform the Exception Test. This consists of the following parts:

1. Swale Level 2 Scoping Report (PDF 195KB) and Appendix A (Scoping) (XLSX 68kb). (The Level 2 Scoping Report examines 72 sites identified by the Council to potentially be taken forward within the Local Plan and determines which of the sites need to be carried forward to a full Level 2 SFRA.)
2. The Interim Level 2 SFRA  - a high level report on potential allocations, to inform the Regulation 19 Consultation
3. The Final Level 2 SFRA - will be published on completion

DISCLAIMER:  Local Plan evidence produced by consultants is published here for information only and does not replace the need for individuals and organisations to carry out their own official searches and evidence gathering.

For queries about any of this information please email.

OLD DOCS 👇- DELETE **

Swale Borough Council Level 1 SFRA - Main Report (v.6, November 2020)

Appendix A - Historic Flooding (v.3, 2019)

Appendix B - Watercourses (v.3, 2019)

Appendix C - Flood Zones and Surface Water Functional Flood Zones (v.3, 2019)

Appendix D - Climate Change (v.3, 2020)

Appendix E1 - Risk of Flooding from Surface Water (v.3, 2019)

Appendix E2 -  Risk of Flooding from Surface Water Climate Change Mapping (March 2023)

Appendix F - Groundwater (v.3, 2019) (only available in PDF format)

Appendix G - Reservoir Inundation (v.3, 2019)

Appendix H.1 - Flood Defences (v.3, 2019)

Appendix H.2 - Flood Defence Types (v.3, 2019)

Appendix H.3 - Flood Defence Standard of Protection (v.3, 2019)

Appendix H.4 - Flood Defence Condition (v.3, 2019)

Appendix I - Breach Locations and Extents (v.3, 2019)

Appendix J - Flood Warning and Alert Areas (v.3, 2019)

Appendix K - Site Screening Spreadsheet (v.6, September 2022)

Appendix L - Potential areas for flood defence improvements (2020)

North Kent Coast Updates

This Technical Note outlines the updates made to the North Kent Coast Model to reflect the latest Environment Agency guidance on extreme sea levels and climate change sea level rise allowances. Please contact the Environment Agency at kslenquiries@environment-agency.gov.uk for details on how to obtain the model data.

Environment Agency

The Environment Agency are the government’s experts on flood risk. To find out whether you are at risk of flooding, to check flood warnings and make sure you are prepared for a flood situation, please go to the Environment's Agency website.

Updated Climate Change Allowances

Since the completion of the Swale SFRA the Government, informed by the Environment Agency, have published updated guidance on climate change allowances to be used in flood risk assessments and strategic flood risk assessments.

When undertaking an FRA, please refer to the most up to date climate change allowances provided by the Environment Agency.

Risk of Flooding from Surface Water – Climate Change Allowances

In 2022 JBA Consulting updated the Environment Agency’s Risk of Flooding from Surface Water (RoFSW) mapping to include the latest peak rainfall climate change allowances. The climate change allowances to be considered for each Management Catchment within Swale are outlined below:

Medway Management Catchment: 

• 3.3% AEP plus 35% climate change allowance
• 1% AEP plus 45% climate change allowance

North Kent Management Catchment:

• 3.3% AEP plus 40% climate change allowance
• 1% AEP plus 45% climate change allowance

Stour Management Catchment:

• 3.3% AEP plus 40% climate change allowance
• 1% AEP plus 45% climate change allowance

A map of the catchments is available on the DEFRA website.