APPENDIX
FURTHER ALTERATIONS
TO THE
LONDON PLAN
The "London Plan" is the title given
to the Regional Spatial Strategy for London. The London Plan was
published in February 2004. In September 2006, the Mayor published
the Further Alterations to the London Plan (FALP) for public consultation.
The FALP were subject to an Examination in Public by an independent
panel, whose report was published in October 2007.
The London Plan took a progressive stance on
flood risk management, providing policies that were later enshrined
in PPS25. These policies have been reviewed in the FALP. The most
relevant of these are highlighted below:
3. SUSTAINABLE
PLANNING FOR
FLOOD RISK
MANAGEMENT
Policy 4A.12 Flooding
In reviewing their DPDs, boroughs should carry
out strategic flood risk assessments to identify locations suitable
for development and those required for flood risk management.
Within areas at risk from flooding (flood zones) the assessment
of flood risk for development proposals should be carried out
in line with PPS25.
Policy 4A.13 Flood risk management
Where development in areas at risk from flooding
is permitted, (taking into account the provisions of PPS 25),
the Mayor will, and boroughs and other agencies should, manage
the existing risk of flooding, and the future increased risk and
consequences of flooding as a result of climate change, by:
(a) Protecting the integrity of existing
flood defences.
(b) Setting permanent built development back
from existing flood defences to allow for the management, maintenance
and upgrading of those defences to be undertaken in a sustainable
and cost effective way.
(c) Incorporating flood resilient design.
(d) Establishing flood warning and emergency
procedures.
Opportunities should also be taken to identify
and utilize areas for flood risk management, including the creation
of new floodplain or the restoration of all or part of the natural
floodplain to its original function, as well as using open space
in the flood plain for the attenuation of flood water.
The Mayor will and boroughs and other agencies
should, take fully into account the emerging findings of the Thames
Estuary 2100 Study, the Regional Flood Risk Appraisal and the
Thames Catchment Flood Risk Management Plan.
Policy 4A.14 Sustainable drainage
The Mayor will, and boroughs should, seek to
ensure that surface water runoff is managed as close to its source
as possible in line with the following drainage hierarchy:
— store rainwater for later use;
— use infiltration techniques, such
as porous surfaces in non-clay areas;
— attenuate rainwater in ponds or open
water features for gradual release to a watercourse;
— attenuate rainwater by storing in
tanks or sealed water features for gradual release to a watercourse;
— discharge rainwater direct to a watercourse;
— discharge rainwater to a surface
water drain; and
— discharge rainwater to the combined
sewer.
The use of sustainable urban drainage systems
should be promoted for development unless there are practical
reasons for not doing so. Such reasons may include the local ground
conditions or density of development. In such cases, the developer
should seek to manage as much run-off as possible on site and
explore sustainable methods of managing the remainder as close
as possible to the site.
The Mayor will encourage multi agency collaboration
(GLA Group, Environment Agency, Thames Water) to identify sustainable
solutions to strategic surface water and combined sewer drainage
flooding/overflows. Developers should aim to achieve greenfield
run off from their site through incorporating rainwater harvesting
and sustainable drainage. Boroughs should encourage the retention
of soft landscaping in front gardens and other means of reducing
or at least not increasing the amount of hard standing associated
with existing homes.
Sustainable drainage techniques will be one
of the keys to ensuring that long-term flooding risk is managed,
particularly given the extent of hard surfaced area in London.
The Mayor believes that managing London's surface water and combined
sewer flooding/overflows should start with source control management—improving
the permeability of the public realm through the incorporation
of rainwater harvesting and sustainable drainage—before
proceeding to enhanced drainage capacity. These techniques include
permeable surfaces, storage on site, green roofs, infiltration
techniques and even water butts. Boroughs should encourage the
retention of soft landscaping in front gardens and other means
of reducing or at least not increasing the amount of hard standing
associated with existing homes. Many of these techniques also
have benefits for biodiversity by creating habitat and some can
help to reduce the demand for supplied water.
The Further Alterations to the London Plan can be
downloaded from
http://www.london.gov.uk/mayor/strategies/sds/further-alts/docs.jsp
The Examination in Public panel's report can be downloaded
from
http://www.london.gov.uk/mayor/strategies/sds/eip-report07/index.jsp
REGIONAL FLOOD
RISK APPRAISAL
The GLA is one of the first regions to undertake
a Regional Flood Risk Appraisal (RFRA), as required under PPS25,
to inform the development of the review of our Regional Spatial
Strategy (the Further Alterations to the London Plan).
The draft Regional Flood Risk Appraisal can be downloaded
from
http://www.london.gov.uk/mayor/strategies/sds/docs/regional-flood-risk.pdf
CLIMATE CHANGE
ADAPTATION STRATEGY
The Mayor requested an amendment to the GLA
Act 1999 to be given a statutory duty to tackle climate change.
A second piece of legislation relating to the GLA received Royal
Assent in October 2007. The GLA Act 2007 supplements and updates
the GLA Act 1999 and grants the Mayor of London new powers. Included
in these powers is the statutory requirement of the Mayor to produce
a Climate Change Adaptation Strategy for London.
The draft Climate Change Adaptation Strategy
will be launched for consultation with the London Assembly in
January 2008. A second publication consultation draft will be
launched for public consultation in May 2008.
The Adaptation Strategy identifies the strategic
climate risks for London. These are flooding, droughts and overheating
(high temperatures).
WATER STRATEGY
The Mayor, together with the Environment Agency
and Thames Water has produced a Water Strategy for London. The
second stage consultation draft (Public Consultation) of the Water
Strategy will be launched in mid December 2007.
The aims of the Water Strategy are to:
— present a London-specific view of
water management;
— enable a more sustainable supply-demand
balance of water for London;
— manage the risk of surface water
and sewer flooding;
— review the energy generation opportunities
for sewage sludge; and
— investigate what is the true value
of water to incentivise water efficient behaviour and to prioritise
demand side management measures.
The London Assembly Consultation Draft of the Mayor's
Water Strategy can be downloaded from
http://www.london.gov.uk/mayor/environment/water/docs/la-draft-water-strategy.pdf
Mayor of London
November 2007
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