Under the Flood Risk Regulations* and aligning with responsibilities under the Flood and Water Management Act, Wakefield Council, defined as a Lead Local Flood Authority, is responsible for undertaking a Preliminary Flood Risk Assessment (PFRA) for local sources of flood risk, primarily from surface runoff, ordinary watercourses and groundwater.

The PRFA is a high level screening exercise which involves collecting and assessing information on historic and future flooding within the district. The information is used to identify Flood Risk Areas, which are vulnerable to significant flooding.

Information relating to past and future flooding was collected and assessed. Based on the collated evidence, 17 locations within the district were identified as having experienced significant harmful consequences from past flooding and 27 locations were identified as being significantly at risk from future surface water flooding. The details of the assessment can be found in the Wakefield Preliminary Flood Risk Assessment Report, Preliminary Assessment Report and accompanying flood plans available to download below.

• flood information for the wider area can be found in the Calder Valley Flood Risk Assessment

* The Flood Risk Regulations implement the European Floods Directive, which provides a consistent approach to managing flood risk across Europe, through a six year planning cycle based on a four stage process of undertaking a Preliminary Flood Risk Assessment, identifying Flood Risk Areas, preparing flood hazard and risk maps and preparing flood risk management plans.