Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael)
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The making of a County Development Plan is a reserved function of the relevant planning authority, in this case Mayo County Council. It is a requirement that a Strategic Flood Risk Assessment (SFRA) be prepared as part of the plan-making process for any County Development Plan. This is to inform the planning authority on matters such as the appropriate location for zoned land and, following the adoption of the plan, to assist in the preparation, where appropriate, of local area plans and the determination of planning applications.

To guide the preparation of SFRAs, Ministerial guidance entitled The Planning System and Flood Risk Managementwas issued in 2009 under Section 28 of the Planning and Development Act 2000 (as amended). As part of the preparation of the Mayo County Development Plan 2014-2020, an SFRA was prepared that included a Stage Two Initial Flood Risk Assessment of 11 settlements across the County. This was to give a further level of assessment of flood risk in these more urban locations.

The County Development Plan SFRA will be complemented by, where appropriate and relevant, local area plan flood risk assessments, flood risk assessments for particular development proposals and further more detailed work carried out as part of the Catchment Flood Risk Assessment and Management (CFRAM) project by the Office for Public Works.

Following the forthcoming adoption of the North and West Regional Economic and Spatial Strategy, which is expected by November 2019, Mayo County Council will follow the statutory adoption process for recommencing a review of the County Development Plan, which will include a new SFRA for the County, that may consider any new or updated information.