Natural flood management heat maps
Published 3 March 2026
Applies to England
© Crown copyright 2026
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1. Using the heat maps to identify NFM opportunities
The Environment Agency has produced natural flood management (NFM) heat maps. You can use these to help you identify potential project opportunities for the flood and coastal erosion risk management (FCERM) investment programme.
You can also use the heat maps to inform the siting of NFM projects supported by other funding streams. This should help stakeholders to align investment opportunities that achieve both flood resilience and wider societal benefits across communities, ecosystems and infrastructure.
2. Accessing the heat maps
The heat maps are available on the Defra Data Services Platform in:
- PDF format, organised by regional flood and coastal committee (RFCC) and Environment Agency area
- geographical information system (GIS) layer
3. How the maps were developed
The maps are based on the Environment Agency’s simplified national-scale methodology for estimating the benefits of NFM.
The approach uses assumptions tested against previous modelling studies and considers flood risk from both rivers and surface water. Opportunity areas are defined at a 1 km² grid scale. They typically highlight non-developed green spaces with potential for NFM interventions and sufficient flood risk downstream to justify investment.
4. Interpreting the maps carefully using local knowledge
The maps do not take account of:
- local features such as pumped catchments, washlands, large reservoirs, roads
- other local infrastructure including flood risk management assets
These features can influence flooding. They can also affect whether NFM measures are suitable in each location. They also do not recommend specific measures or assess whether they are achievable. You must use local knowledge to confirm that proposed measures are likely to function effectively within the specific local context.
The mapping cannot identify which watercourse or flow path is responsible for flooding. A small upstream catchment near a community at risk may therefore appear to offer high potential benefit, even if the real problem is a much larger nearby river. For this reason, you should always interpret the outputs alongside a clear understanding of the sources and pathways of flooding.
While the maps provide a valuable guide for identifying priority locations, they do not guarantee that projects in these areas will represent good value for money. You must carefully consider the costs and benefits of any proposed project.
Local NFM opportunity mapping can also be used to inform project locations and the choice of NFM measures. However, we know this isn’t available everywhere.
5. Further improvements to the maps
In the future, we are keen to continuously improve the national NFM heat maps by screening out areas where NFM would not be effective because of local features. We also plan to update the maps as new evidence emerges about the best places to deliver NFM. Over time, we intend to explore incorporating local NFM opportunity mapping. This would allow us to complement the national NFM heat maps with the most up to date local information.