Waverley Borough, England climate resilience brief

Priority hazards

• Surface-water floodingmedium confidence
• River floodingmedium confidence
• Heat-health stress in older housingmedium confidence

Exposure and vulnerability

Assets

River Wey bridges and riverside properties, highway drains, culverts and school access roads, libraries, community halls, schools and care-linked facilities, water, wastewater, power and transport utility nodes

Use current local exposure, public health, infrastructure, and social vulnerability data before acting.

Adaptation options

• Sustainable drainage retrofits on priority streetsRequires highway consents, landowner agreement, utility checks and maintenance budget; flood-map targeting verified locally.Cost: medium-high · Benefit: reduced flash flooding, safer access and lower highway maintenance disruption
• Property flood resilience for riverside and repeat-loss blocksProperty-level surveys confirm suitability; residents agree to installation and maintenance; insurance and conservation constraints reviewed.Cost: medium · Benefit: quicker recovery, lower internal damage and better protection for vulnerable households
• Cool public buildings and heat-health outreachBuilding audits identify overheating rooms; outreach uses public health and emergency-management partners; energy impacts monitored.Cost: low-medium · Benefit: reduced heat illness, continuity of services and better support during UKHSA heat-health alerts

Cost and benefit ranges are planning estimates, not procurement-ready budgets.

Implementation timeline

Short term

• Map Waverley Borough repeat flood and heat-risk assets using surface water flood maps, Environment Agency data and local incident records.
• Audit Godalming, Farnham, Haslemere and Cranleigh public buildings for drainage, overheating and emergency-power weaknesses.

Mid term

• Deliver SuDS and property flood resilience packages at two priority River Wey/surface-water clusters.
• Create heat-health refuge and outreach protocols with Waverley Borough, Surrey partners and community facility managers.

Long term

• Embed climate allowances in the local government asset plan, highways renewals and planning conditions.
• Scale boroughwide monitoring, maintenance and MRV for drains, flood doors, cool rooms and vulnerable-resident support.

Funding windows

• Environment Agency flood and coastal erosion risk management grant-in-aidnational public grant · Match: often requires partnership contribution; confirm calculator outputs · Award: $100k-$10M+ depending on approved business case · O&M: limited; capital-focused, maintenance usually local/operator responsibility
• Surrey County Council Lead Local Flood Authority / local authority capital programmelocal public capital · Match: variable local match; confirm with Surrey and Waverley budget cycles · Award: $50k-$2M per package varies by capital programme · O&M: some maintenance may be eligible if in adopted asset budgets
• UK Shared Prosperity Fund or successor place-based fundsplace-based regeneration grant · Match: variable; often encouraged rather than fixed · Award: $25k-$1M project-scale where local investment plans allow · O&M: limited; outreach, small capital and community capacity may fit

Decision triggers

• If Met Office amber rain warning or local gauges indicate intense rainfall likely to exceed critical surface-water capacity in Waverley BoroughThen pre-clear gullies at mapped hotspots, stage highways crews, warn schools and care facilities, and record flooded locations for the Lead Local Flood Authority
• If Environment Agency flood alert or warning is issued for River Wey reaches affecting Godalming or FarnhamThen activate property flood resilience contacts, inspect bridges and car parks, support vulnerable riverside residents, and log impacts for FCERM evidence
• If UKHSA heat-health alert reaches amber or local indoor temperatures in designated Waverley facilities exceed safe operating thresholdsThen open cool rooms, extend welfare checks, adjust staff rotas, communicate drinking-water and shade locations, and track heat-related service demand

Evidence and sources

• Surface-water flooding is a near-term priority for Waverley Borough dispersed settlements and roads.expert inference; verify with Surrey County Council Lead Local Flood Authority surface water flood maps and Waverley incident records
• River flood exposure is concentrated near River Wey and tributary corridors rather than across the whole borough uniformly.expert inference; verify with Environment Agency flood maps and regional hazard maps
• Heat-health adaptation should focus on older housing, care-linked residents and public buildings.expert inference; verify with UKHSA heat-health guidance, Met Office/UKCP projections and Waverley housing data

Governance and verification

Steps

• Waverley Borough Council asset lead to create a ranked climate-risk register using Environment Agency and Lead Local Flood Authority evidence.
• Surrey County Council and Waverley operations to agree maintenance ownership for SuDS, gullies, culverts and flood-resilience assets.
• Waverley resilience lead with public health partners to test annual flood and heat triggers before winter and summer seasons.

Partners

Waverley Borough Council planning, assets and emergency planning teams for the local government asset plan, Surrey County Council Lead Local Flood Authority and highways drainage teams for surface water flood maps and works, Environment Agency for River Wey flood data, warnings and FCERM grant-in-aid appraisal, Water and transport operators plus public health and emergency-management partners serving Godalming, Farnham, Haslemere and Cranleigh

Priority sites

Godalming and Farnham River Wey riverside homes, bridges, car parks and business frontages exposed to river flooding, Haslemere, Cranleigh and rural Surrey Hills roads, culverts and school access routes exposed to surface-water flooding, Waverley Borough older housing, libraries, community halls and care-linked facilities exposed to heat-health stress

Equity approach

target grants, outreach and cool-room access where flood maps, heat risk and social vulnerability overlap in Waverley Borough

Metrics

number of priority gullies/SuDS assets inspected before storm season, properties receiving flood-resilience surveys or installations, public buildings with measured overheating reduction, heat and flood welfare contacts completed