Bideford Flood Risk
Bideford has a Low flood risk from rivers and the sea , with 5.2% of homes in a Medium or High band. The nearest gauge is 0.5 km away.
Bideford has 19,042 residents and 9,904 homes. Ranked 760 of 7,114 in England for rivers and sea flood risk.
What Is The River Level Near Bideford Right Now?
The nearest gauge is Bideford Elliots Kingsley Road, 0.5 km from the centre of Bideford, at Bideford. Its typical range is 0.074 m to 1.731 m, and the highest level on record is 2 m, reached on 1 January 2024.
No current reading has been published for this gauge.
Why Are Parts Of Bideford In Flood Zone 3 But Rated Low Risk?
16.9% of postcodes in Bideford fall in Flood Zone 3, but the flood risk band for rivers and the sea is low. The two maps measure different things: the Flood Zone ignores defences, and the band counts them.
When Has Bideford Flooded Before?
The Environment Agency holds 4 recorded flood outlines covering Bideford, the most recent dated 3 January 2014.
Absence of a record is not evidence that a place has never flooded — the Environment Agency states that a lack of coverage does not mean an area has never flooded.
What Does Bideford's Flood Risk Classification Mean?
16.9% of postcodes in Bideford sit in Flood Zone 3, the planning band for land with a 1% or greater annual chance of river flooding or 0.5% or greater of sea flooding — and the map that draws it deliberately ignores flood defences.
The flood risk band for rivers and the sea is Low , with 5.2% of homes in a Medium or High band. Unlike the Flood Zone, the band counts the defences that are actually in place, which is why the two can describe the same street differently and both be right.
Bideford is one of the places where they disagree most in England: a large share of its postcodes are in Flood Zone 3, yet few of its homes carry a Medium or High band. The gap is the defences — land the planning map must treat as floodplain, behind a barrier that lowers the present-day chance of flooding.
Which Postcode Districts Cover Bideford?
Each district below is one postcode district that falls inside Bideford. The band is the one shared by most of that district's postcodes, so it describes the district rather than a single street — enter a full postcode in the checker for one address. A district can cover more than one town, and the district pages linked from the checker are keyed to the town that holds most of its postcodes.
| Postcode district | Postcodes here | Rivers and sea band | Surface water addresses |
|---|---|---|---|
| EX39 | 504 | Low | 513 |
What Else Is Near Bideford?
Other places on the Kenwith Stream, nearest to Bideford first.