Flood Risk Management

Local Flood Risk Management

The Isles of Scilly is at risk from flooding. The islands are particularly vulnerable from flooding from the sea and intense rainfall overwhelming our surface water drainage systems. 

The risks the island's face will intensify over time as we begin to feel the impacts from Climate Change, with the likelihood of increased rainfall and rising sea-levels combined with more frequent and more intense storm surges. 

The Council of the Isles of Scilly recognises that alongside the risks posed by a changing climate, there are future challenges for funding flood defence projects, and this requires a collaborative approach between all the major stakeholders on the islands to build resilience within the communities across all the islands. 

The Council recognises it alone cannot eliminate all the risks but that we can address how we manage flood risk locally. 

Local Flood Risk Management Strategy

Under the Flood and Water Management Act, 2010, the Council of the Isles of Scilly has a statutory duty to develop a Local Flood Risk Management Strategy.

On 14 October 2025 Members approved the 2025-2031 Local Flood Risk Management Strategy for the Isles of Scilly.

What is covered by the Strategy

The strategy sets out, how the Council of the Isles of Scilly will undertake its flood risk management responsibilities over the next 6 years, from 2025 to 2031, focusing on:

• the risks of flooding from surface water, ground water and the sea;
• clarification of which Authority is responsible for what in relation to the management of local flood risk;
• and the defined role of the Council of the Isles of Scilly as Lead Local Flood Authority.

The strategy contains an Action Plan to focus delivery, which will be regularly reviewed and updated during the lifetime of the strategy.

The revised strategy places greater emphasis on the flooding impacts of climate change across the islands, our resilience to those impacts and how we seek to adapt.

You can view a copy of the strategy below.

Further information 

If you have any questions about the strategy or flood risk please contact environment@scilly.gov.uk.

 

Other information on Flood Risk and Coastal Erosion 

Shoreline Management Plan

The coasts of England and Wales are covered by twenty Shoreline Management Plans (SMPs) which are produced by the Environment Agency and other key stakeholders.

The SMP is a non-statutory policy document for coastal defence planning and sets out the recommended approach to managing the shoreline over the next 100 years.

The Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Shoreline Management Plan was last reviewed in 2011 and is currently being refreshed to ensure it remains appropriate and includes any new evidence which may have come to light since then.

- The Shoreline Management Plan originally was created for the Isles of Scilly in 1999 (SMP1 Isles of Scilly). 

- The second (current) Shoreline Management Plan was published in 2011 as the ‘Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Shoreline Management Plan (SMP2)’. The Isles of Scilly Section of the SMP2 is available in a PDF format here. 

- A mid-term review of the SMP2 was completed in 2016 and is available here, including a separate report for the Isles of Scilly.

An update of the Shoreline Management Plan is in progress and will be published when it is completed.

A map of the extent of the current Shoreline Management Plan designations for the Isles of Scilly, Cornwall, Devon, Dorset and the Severn Estuary is available here. This map is coded according to the following designations for the short, medium and long-term as:

NAI – No Active Intervention

HTL – Hold The Line

MR – Managed Retreat

 

Flood Risk Responsibility

The Environment Agency is responsible for the strategic overview of all sources of flood and coastal erosion risk.

Coastal Flooding & Erosion
The Environment Agency is specifically responsible for coastal flooding and flooding from main rivers (however there are no main rivers on the Isles of Scilly). As the Coastal Protection Authority, the Council has principal responsibility for coastal erosion. 

Surface & Ground Water Flooding 
The Council is responsible for flooding from surface water, ground water and managing the flood risk from Council owned and maintained highways drainage.

Sewers & Water Mains
South West Water is responsible for managing the flood risk from sewers and burst water mains.