Flooding and land in Westbourne
Figures last changed 20 October 2026. House prices for Westbourne are on the main Westbourne page.
On this page: Does Westbourne flood? · Will Westbourne flood more in future? · How often does Westbourne get flood warnings? · Are there old landfill sites near Westbourne?
Does Westbourne flood?
From rivers and the sea, parts of it can. Four of Westbourne's 91 postcodes have their centre point inside Environment Agency flood zone 3, the highest band, and three more sit 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), 40 of the 91 postcodes (44%) 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 think of Westbourne as a place that floods. The Ems is better known for flooding downstream in Emsworth, around the mill ponds, though the Environment Agency's flood warning area for the river covers Westbourne too. Environment Agency flood warning area: Westbourne, Lumley and Emsworth on the River Ems
Will Westbourne flood more in future?
A little 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, four of Westbourne's 91 postcodes have their centre point at high or medium risk today, and six under the scenario, which runs to the 2050s with sea level rise to 2065; at high risk alone, none today and three then. From heavy rain, 40 have high or medium risk within 25 metres today, and 44 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 Westbourne get flood warnings?
The Environment Agency issued a flood warning for part of Westbourne only once in the ten years to June 2026, on 18 February 2026. 38 of its 91 postcodes sit inside the Agency's flood warning area "Westbourne, Lumley and Emsworth on the River Ems", with warnings on one day. 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 ten days in that time, most recently on 1 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 Westbourne?
Yes. The Environment Agency's record of historic landfill sites shows four within 500 metres of a Westbourne postcode, and 31 of its 91 postcodes (34%) have their centre point on one or within 250 metres of it. The one closest to most postcodes is East of Church Hall, which took industrial and inert waste such as soil and rubble in 1986. The others are Cemetery Land, Foxbury Lane and Common Road. 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 91 postcodes in Westbourne. How these figures are made.