Managing flood risk for campsite and caravan park owners
How to manage the risk of flooding on your campsite, caravan park, holiday park or residential park.
Applies to England
You are responsible for keeping people on your site safe from flooding if you own or manage one of the following:
- campsite
- caravan site
- holiday park
- residential park
To keep people on your site safe, you should:
- check the risk of flooding on your site
- prepare for flooding
- adapt your site to the risk of flooding
Check the risk of flooding on your site
You can:
- check for flooding in the next 5 days
- check your long-term flood risk from rivers, the sea, surface water, reservoirs and groundwater (where data is available)
- sign up for flood warnings by phone, text or email
Find out if your area has flooded before by speaking to:
- your neighbours and local site owners
- your local council
- previous site owners or managers
- your local community flood or emergency planning group if you have one
You can also ask the Environment Agency about the flooding history of a property.
Prepare for flooding
To prepare for flooding, you can:
- write a flood plan and create a site map
- train your staff
- display flood warning information
- get business insurance
Read more about how to prepare for flooding.
You can speak to your local council about emergency planning in your area.
Write a flood plan and create a site map
Plan how you will respond to a flood and when and how to activate your flood plan.
You should create a map of your site and keep a copy of it with your flood plan.
The site map should show:
- where to switch off gas and electricity
- safe evacuation routes
- traffic management plans
- assembly points
- a crisis centre (which may be off-site)
- where to find life rings
Make sure your staff can access the flood plan and site map. Check, update and test your plan regularly.
Share your flood plan and site map with emergency planners at your local council.
Train your staff
All staff should know:
- about the flood plan and how to find it
- their roles and responsibilities during a flood
- how to communicate effectively during a flood
- how often your flood plan is reviewed, updated and tested
Make a person or a group of people responsible for managing a flood emergency, including:
- when and how to active your flood plan
- making decisions
- communicating to everybody on your site
- liaising with public authorities
- managing other staff
Display flood warning information for people on your site
Flood warning signs should tell people what to do and where to go if there is a flood. It is important to explain the risk of flooding to your guests, residents and visitors.
Display flood warning signs:
- in prominent places across your site
- alongside your site map
Display other useful flood and weather information
You could direct people to:
- daily weather forecasts and warnings from the Met Office
- tide times (if your site is in a coastal or tidal location)
- flood warnings and alerts
- Floodline
You can display flood warnings on your website using this widget.
Help people who need more support
There may be people on your site who need more support during a flood, especially during an evacuation. They may include:
- disabled people
- people with impaired mobility
- older people
- people with chronic illnesses
- children and young people
Get insurance
Find out about business insurance for flooding.
Adapt your site to the risk of future flooding
You cannot completely protect your site against flooding, but there are things you can do in advance to reduce:
- the amount of flood water that gets onto your site
- the damage from flood water
- the cost and time of cleaning up after a flood
Adapt static caravans
To minimise the impact of future flooding on static caravans you can:
- sit them on higher ground
- use axle stands to raise them about 0.5 metres (20 inches) above ground level
- store them away from low-lying areas
- tie them together during closed season
- fit flotation devices to their bottom
- use anchors
You can email the National Caravan Council (NCC) for publications on moving and siting caravan holiday homes. Email [email protected].
Move touring caravans and tents
If it is safe, you can ask owners to move touring caravans and tents off site before or during a flood. You could include this in your flood plan.
Use temporary flood barriers
Temporary barriers and flood protection products can reduce the impact of flooding on your site.
You can read more about flood protection products and services at Blue Pages.
Store gas cylinders and pollutants safely
Store gas cylinders and pollutants, such as paint and chemicals, securely and away from the area at risk of flooding.
Get more help and information from Floodline
You can contact Floodline for advice:
Floodline
Telephone: 0345 988 1188
Textphone: 0345 602 6340
24-hour service
Find out about call charges
Updates to this page
Published 20 August 2013Last updated 18 September 2023 + show all updates
-
Removed 2 PDFs and added information to the page.
-
Floodline telephone number changed to 0345 988 1188
-
0845 contact number for Floodline removed. From November 2014, the telephone number for the Environment Agency’s Floodline service will be 0345 988 1188.
-
First published.