PPS 15 Planning and Flood Risk (Revised)·Page 57·B8
Impact on Floodplains and Ecological Resources
River and coastal floodplains are valuable ecological resources containing rare plants and animals and priority habitats; they also provide important landscape and archaeological/built heritage features that can be damaged by floods and inappropriate development.
River and coastal flood plains are valuable ecological resources which provide habitat for a wide range of plants and animals, many of which are rare. A number of the priority habitats identified in the Northern Ireland Biodiversity Strategy are associated with floodplains. In addition, flood plains are often important landscape assets and the location of features of the archaeological and built heritage. Flood events can damage ecosystems, habitats, archaeological / built heritage assets and landscape features, and development can exacerbate such damage. The natural regulation of floodwater limits ecological damage caused by flooding, while pondage areas provide for the trapping and deposition of sediments and recycling of the nutrients from run-off.
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