Co-designing natural flood management: understanding and aligning community priorities and technological pathways in UK catchments

Flooding in small and semi-rural catchments is an increasing concern in the UK, yet these areas often receive less attention and are underrepresented in national strategies than larger urban centres. These catchments are complex, with varied land use, limited infrastructure, and diverse community needs. Despite their vulnerability, there is limited understanding of how flood risk develops in these settings and how locally appropriate, inclusive solutions can be designed. This PhD project brings together academic researchers, local councils, and a commercial partner to address this gap. It will explore how nature-based flood management can be more effectively applied in small catchments, analysing the opportunities for and impacts of nature based solutions as well as investigating how this can form a basis for community involvement and practical implementation.

The project builds on recommendations from the ICUN Global Standard for Nature based Solutions, driven by the Environmental Improvement plan (EIP, 2025), which highlights the potential of natural flood management (NFM) to reduce flood risk in the UK. Unlike traditional flood defences, which are often led by government agencies, NFM involves a wider range of actors and encourages community participation. Recent guidance from the Environment Agency (2025) also stresses the importance of nature-based approaches and the need to place communities at the centre of flood risk planning. This research will contribute to better understanding of how to engage communities, assess the effectiveness of NFM, and improve communication of real-time flood data to support local decision-making. Furthermore, the project will explore how flood resilience can be improved in small, semi-rural catchments through locally tailored, inclusive approaches.
Herefordshire Council, a project partner, is currently implementing nature-based flood management (NFM) in seven priority sub-catchments. They are keen to better understand the benefits and effectiveness of these measures. The project will build on their work and contribute evidence to support future planning. (Link: https://www.herefordshire.gov.uk/nfm ).

The second partner, Andel Ltd., provides early warning technologies for flood-prone areas. Their interest lies in improving how and where their systems are deployed, and how real-time data can be communicated clearly to communities. Therefore, the project will investigate how Natural Flood management (NFM), community engagement, and real-time technologies can be integrated to support flood resilience in smaller catchments in the UK. The research will be guided by three objectives: evaluating NFM effectiveness, understanding inclusive co-design processes, and improving communication of flood data to communities.