Flooding and land in Fishbourne
Figures last changed 20 October 2026. House prices for Fishbourne are on the main Fishbourne page.
On this page: Does Fishbourne flood? · Will Fishbourne flood more in future? · How often does Fishbourne get flood warnings? · Are there old landfill sites near Fishbourne?
Does Fishbourne flood?
From rivers and the sea, very little: none of Fishbourne's 78 postcodes has its centre point in Environment Agency flood zone 3, the highest band, but one sits in zone 2. These zones cover rivers and the sea only and ignore flood defences. Rain is a separate risk: on the Environment Agency's surface-water map (read 18 October 2026), 27 of the 78 postcodes (35%) have high or medium risk within 25 metres of their centre point. Groundwater isn't mapped in either, and a postcode is not a house: check an exact address on GOV.UK.
Source: Environment Agency Flood Map for Planning · Check an address for flood risk · What the flood zones leave out · New builds and Flood Re.
What locals say
- Locals don't remember the village itself flooding. The parish council still keeps a flooding archive, and asks residents to send in what they see. Fishbourne Parish Council: flooding archive
Will Fishbourne flood more in future?
Yes, noticeably more, on the Environment Agency's climate change scenario. Its long-term flood maps, unlike the flood zones above, count flood defences. From rivers and the sea, none of Fishbourne's 78 postcodes have their centre point at high or medium risk today, and two under the scenario, which runs to the 2050s with sea level rise to 2065; at high risk alone, none today and one then. From heavy rain, 27 have high or medium risk within 25 metres today, and 32 under the scenario. High risk means at least a 1 in 30 chance of flooding in any year, and medium means between 1 in 100 and 1 in 30. The maps were read on 18 October 2026.
Source: Environment Agency long-term flood risk maps, today and with climate change.
How often does Fishbourne get flood warnings?
The Environment Agency issued a flood warning for part of Fishbourne on eleven days in the ten years to June 2026, most recently on 30 March 2025. One of its 78 postcodes sits inside the Agency's flood warning area "Bosham and West Itchenor" (Chichester Harbour), with warnings on eleven days. No severe flood warning, the level that means danger to life, was issued in that time. Flood alerts, the earlier message that flooding is possible, went out on 44 days in that time, most recently on 2 February 2026. Warnings cover flooding from rivers and the sea, and groundwater in a few places, not heavy rain on its own. Each count is of days on which a new warning or alert went out, so updates on an event already running are not counted again.
Source: Environment Agency Historic Flood Warnings · Environment Agency flood warning and alert areas (real-time flood-monitoring API) · Sign up for free flood warnings.
Are there old landfill sites near Fishbourne?
Yes. The Environment Agency's record of historic landfill sites shows one within 500 metres of a Fishbourne postcode, though none of its 78 postcodes has its centre point within 250 metres of one. The nearest is Brinkman Farms, which took inert waste such as soil and rubble between 1960 and 1990. A historic landfill is an old tip with no environmental permit in force: one that closed before tips were licensed, or whose licence has since ended. The Agency says much of its record comes from a national survey in the early 1990s, so it may be incomplete, and some boundaries are only approximate. An old tip nearby does not by itself mean a problem; the council's contaminated land register, or a search on an exact address, says more.
Figures cover 78 postcodes in Fishbourne. How these figures are made.