The Environment Agency FRA template is the official form for preparing a flood risk assessment for smaller planning applications in England. Published in March 2025 with its own guidance notes, it gives householders and small developers a structured way to produce an FRA that planners will accept — without starting from a blank page.
This guide explains when you can use the template, walks through what each part of it asks for, and flags the situations where a filled-in form on its own will not be enough to get planning permission.
What is the Environment Agency FRA template?
In March 2025 the Environment Agency published a standard flood risk assessment template (Version 1.0) together with a guidance document, both available through the Planning Portal's flood risk pages. It is aimed at small-scale development — householder extensions, single new dwellings and other minor applications — where a full consultant-drafted report has often been disproportionate to the risk involved.
The template matters because an FRA is a validation requirement: if your site needs one and you do not submit it, the council will not even register your application. Our explainer on what a flood risk assessment is covers the basics.
When do you need an FRA — and when can you use the template?
Under national guidance on flood risk assessments for planning applications (gov.uk), you need an FRA if your site is:
- in Flood Zone 2 or Flood Zone 3 (any development, including extensions);
- in Flood Zone 1 but over 1 hectare;
- in an area with critical drainage problems, or at risk from other sources such as surface water — a category that grew in May 2026 when the Environment Agency added new surface water data to the Flood Map for Planning.
The template is designed for the simple end of that spectrum: householder extensions and small-scale schemes where the flood mechanism is well understood. Check your zone first — our guide to Flood Zones 1, 2 and 3 explains what each means, and the official gov.uk flood risk checker gives you the mapping.
How to complete the FRA template, section by section
1. Site and development details
The template starts with the basics: site address, a location plan showing the site boundary, what you are proposing, and its flood risk vulnerability classification (a house extension is "more vulnerable"; a garage is "less vulnerable"). Include nearby watercourses, ditches and any structures that could influence flow paths — planners check these against their own mapping, so accuracy here builds credibility for everything that follows.
2. Sources of flood risk
Next comes the heart of the assessment: identifying every source of flooding that could affect the site — rivers and the sea, surface water, groundwater, sewers and artificial sources such as reservoirs. Use the Flood Map for Planning for rivers, sea and surface water, and record any history of flooding at the property. A common failing is to address the obvious river risk and ignore surface water — the risk most applicants miss.
3. Flood zone and probability
State the site's flood zone and, where the mapping provides it, the modelled depth and likelihood of flooding. Since the 2026 data update the Flood Map for Planning shows banded depth information for surface water, which is exactly the kind of site-specific evidence the template expects you to use.
4. Climate change
An FRA must look at risk over the lifetime of the development, not just today. That means applying the Environment Agency's climate change allowances — uplifts to river flows and rainfall intensity that vary by river basin district and by the development's lifetime. Our guide to climate change allowances in FRAs explains which percentages apply.
5. Managing the risk: floor levels and resilience
This is where you show the development will be safe. Typical measures for small schemes follow the Environment Agency's standing advice: setting finished floor levels above the estimated flood level (usually with a freeboard allowance), using flood-resistant materials up to a stated height, locating electrical sockets higher on walls, and specifying flood-resilient construction for areas that could still get wet. See our guide to finished floor levels and property flood resilience for what planners expect to see specified.
6. Surface water drainage and SuDS
The template asks how you will manage runoff from the completed development. For extensions this is usually straightforward — soakaways, permeable paving or attenuation designed so runoff is no worse than the existing situation — but it must be stated, not assumed. Sustainable drainage should follow the principles of CIRIA C753, the SuDS Manual.
7. Safe access and escape
Finally, describe how occupants can reach safety in a flood: dry or safe access routes, flood warnings (signing up to the Environment Agency's free flood warning service), and an evacuation plan where relevant.
Common mistakes when filling in the template
- Copying the flood zone from an out-of-date screenshot. The mapping changed materially in 2026 — always take fresh data.
- Ignoring climate change. A current-day flood level with no allowance applied is the single most common reason small FRAs get bounced.
- No drainage section. Even a modest extension adds impermeable area; say how you will deal with it.
- Vague mitigation. "Flood resilient construction will be used" fails; "finished floor level set at 600 mm above estimated flood level" passes.
When is the template not enough?
The template suits simple, low-risk cases. You are likely to need a fuller, site-specific FRA — with sequential test evidence, modelled levels or detailed drainage design — if your proposal involves a new dwelling in Flood Zone 2 or 3 (where the Sequential and Exception Tests may apply), a basement, a site affected by multiple flood sources, or anything the council's own validation checklist says requires a technical assessment. If in doubt, check with the local planning authority before submitting.
Key takeaways
- The Environment Agency's FRA template (March 2025) gives small applications a structured, accepted format for flood risk assessments.
- You need an FRA for any development in Flood Zones 2 or 3, larger Zone 1 sites, and sites at surface water or other flood risk.
- The template covers site details, all flood sources, flood zone and depths, climate change, mitigation, drainage and safe access — every section needs a specific answer.
- New dwellings in higher-risk zones, basements and complex sites usually need a full site-specific FRA rather than the template alone.
How Fortress Associates can help
Fortress Associates' automated flood risk assessment service produces a free, site-specific FRA for planning applications in England in minutes, built on live Environment Agency data and structured to follow the Environment Agency's FRA template (March 2025) — including flood zone screening, surface water risk, climate change allowances and a SuDS drainage strategy to CIRIA C753. Contact us if you would like help with a more complex site.
Sources & further reading
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