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Store at the corner of Parade and Warwick Street, Royal Leamington SpaPhoto: Robin Stott · CC BY-SA 2.0
C+Hazard risk Grade
Flood & hazards in Royal Leamington Spa · Environment Agency

Heavy rain is Royal Leamington Spa’s main flood risk: 6.1% of homes, against 0.5% from rivers or the sea

On the Environment Agency’s maps, which allow for flood defences, “high or medium” means at least a 1 in 100 chance of flooding from rivers or the sea in any year. Royal Leamington Spa’s Hazard risk Grade is C+: #20 of 34 in Warwickshire.

1998worst recorded flood30flood warnings since 200634%in a radon Affected Area
In brief

What stands out about Royal Leamington Spa’s hazards

From the Environment Agency’s maps and records and the BGS radon atlas, below.

Rain, more than the river6.1% of homes sit where heavy rain can flood the streets, against 0.5% at risk from rivers and the sea.Remembers 1998Floodwater covered 12 hectares of today’s Royal Leamington Spa in 1998; 89 of today’s households live inside past flood outlines.The River Avon ran its 7th-highest in January 20253.30 m at Warwick on 7 January 2025, 65 cm under the record set in 1998.30 flood warnings since 2006For the parts of Royal Leamington Spa the Environment Agency warns directly; the most recent on 6 January 2025.
By hazard

What Royal Leamington Spa faces

Each hazard against its own yardstick; meters run from low to high on that yardstick.

Rivers and the sea

0.5%of homes at high or medium risk
More than the typical UK town · more than 59% of towns
145 homes by the EA’s own count

Surface water

6.1%of homes at high or medium risk
More than 78% of UK towns
Rivers and sea: 0.5%

Past floods

2years with a recorded flood
Last recorded: April 1998
89 households inside past outlines

The River Avon

2.74 mhighest in winter 2025–26 at Warwick
14th-highest of 35 winters
Record 3.95 m, April 1998

Flood warnings

30flood warnings since 2006
276 flood alerts for the wider area
Last warning 6 January 2025

Radon

34%of the town in a radon Affected Area
Highest band here: 10–30% of homes
1% in squares of 5% or more
Not on this page: coastal erosion, subsidence and shrink-swell ground (the British Geological Survey licenses it), groundwater flooding and reservoir failure.
Hazard risk Grade

Royal Leamington Spa grades C+ for hazard risk

Flood risk from rivers and the sea, against all UK towns.

Homes at high or medium flood risk (0.5%)Fewer than 40% of UK towns

The share of homes at high or medium risk from rivers and the sea, ranked against every UK town of 1,000 or more: fewer homes at risk is better. Towns with none at high or medium risk are ordered by their share at low risk, so they don’t all share one score. Surface water and radon aren’t graded: they are described below.

Flood map

Where the water goes in Royal Leamington Spa

Turn layers on and off. Blue is the risk from rivers and the sea; pink is where heavy rain collects. Both allow for flood defences.

Recorded flood: 1985Recorded flood: 1998© OpenStreetMap contributors · EA NaFRA2
HighMediumLowrivers & seaHighMediumLowsurface waterRoyal Leamington Spa’s built-up area

The river and sea risk follows the Avon, the St Johns and the Fishers. Surface-water risk is spread across the town, in dips, underpasses and along small streams, which is why more homes are exposed to it.

Rivers and the sea

0.5% of Royal Leamington Spa’s homes are at high or medium risk from rivers or the sea

The Environment Agency’s national map, allowing for defences. A further 4.3% are at low risk.

High risk0.2%of homes · 1 in 30 a year or more44 homes, EA count
Medium risk0.4%of homes · 1 in 30 to 1 in 100101 homes, EA count
Low risk4.3%of homes · 1 in 100 to 1 in 1,0001,131 homes, EA count
Where Royal Leamington Spa sits among 3,735 UK towns
35%None
23%Under 0.5%
9%0.5–1%Royal Leamington Spa
11%1–2%
11%2–5%
5%5–10%
3%10–20%
2%20% +

Share of each UK town’s homes at high or medium risk from rivers and the sea. 35% of UK towns have none; Royal Leamington Spa has more than 59% of towns.

Towns its size: 71st of 138 from the fewest homes at risk
#TownPeopleHigh or med.
1Dudley West Midlands64,2770%
2Smethwick West Midlands56,3430%
3Bootle Merseyside53,7220%
…
69Camberley Surrey36,7870.5%
70Dartford Kent69,1310.5%
71Royal Leamington Spa Warwickshire51,3210.5%
72Braintree Essex43,1790.5%
73Bognor Regis West Sussex68,4430.6%
…
137West Molesey Surrey47,1447.2%
138Tonbridge Kent36,1367.9%

UK towns of 36,000 to 72,000 people.

The Environment Agency’s Risk of Flooding from Rivers and Sea (NaFRA2, June 2026) counts each postcode’s homes by band; the shares weight those postcodes by Census 2021 households. The EA counts include homes built since 2021.

Surface water

Heavy rain puts about 11.5 times as many Royal Leamington Spa homes at risk as rivers and the sea do

Surface water is rain that falls faster than drains and the ground can take it. It is mapped separately from rivers and the sea, and it is not in the Hazard risk Grade.

Surface water6.1%
Rivers and the sea0.5%
0%7%14% of homes

About 2.9% of homes are at high risk of surface-water flooding (a 1 in 30 chance or more each year) and 3.2% at medium risk: roughly 1,360 households. A further 7.5% face a low risk from surface water. That is more than 78% of UK towns.

~1,360
households at high or medium risk
7.5%
of homes at low risk
78%
of UK towns have a smaller share
30,193
addresses read on the map

Our estimate: every address in the town (ONS NSUL) read on the Environment Agency’s Risk of Flooding from Surface Water map (NaFRA2, 2025), each postcode’s share weighted by its Census 2021 households. Neither agency publishes a count of homes for surface water, so treat it as a guide; one street can differ from the next.

Flood history

Royal Leamington Spa has flooded in 2 recorded years since 1985, most of all in 1998

Every flood the Environment Agency has mapped inside Royal Leamington Spa’s built-up area, newest first. The record is fullest for big river floods; small and surface-water floods are often missing.

  1. 1998April 1998: River flooding recorded12 hectares inside today’s built-up area · Lower Severn
  2. 1985January 1985: River flooding recorded6 hectares inside today’s built-up area · Lower Severn
The worst: 199812 ha

Floodwater covered 12 hectares of what is now Royal Leamington Spa in 1998, the largest flood the record holds here (April).

89 of Royal Leamington Spa’s households today live inside the outline of a recorded flood.

River levels

The River Avon at Warwick: highest 3.95 m, in April 1998

The highest level each winter (October to September) at the Environment Agency’s Warwick gauge (Warwick), since 1990. The river normally runs between 0.40 m and 1.46 m here.

Highest level each winter, metres
Winter 1990–91: highest 2.36 m · 21 days above the normal rangeWinter 1991–92: highest 2.79 m · 13 days above the normal rangeWinter 1992–93: highest 2.90 m · 38 days above the normal rangeWinter 1993–94: highest 2.63 m · 64 days above the normal rangeWinter 1994–95: highest 2.07 m · 49 days above the normal rangeWinter 1995–96: highest 2.00 m · 12 days above the normal rangeWinter 1996–97: highest 1.50 m · 1 days above the normal rangeWinter 1997–98: highest 3.95 m on 10 April 1998 · 33 days above the normal rangeWinter 1998–99: highest 2.49 m · 62 days above the normal rangeWinter 1999–00: highest 2.56 m · 42 days above the normal rangeWinter 2000–01: highest 2.90 m · 107 days above the normal rangeWinter 2001–02: highest 2.01 m · 34 days above the normal rangeWinter 2002–03: highest 2.80 m · 57 days above the normal rangeWinter 2003–04: highest 2.48 m · 28 days above the normal rangeWinter 2004–05: highest 2.03 m · 25 days above the normal rangeWinter 2005–06: highest 1.92 m · 23 days above the normal rangeWinter 2006–07: highest 3.47 m on 21 July 2007 · 105 days above the normal rangeWinter 2007–08: highest 3.03 m · 59 days above the normal rangeWinter 2008–09: highest 2.83 m · 53 days above the normal rangeWinter 2009–10: highest 2.27 m · 45 days above the normal rangeWinter 2010–11: highest 1.89 m · 14 days above the normal rangeWinter 2011–12: highest 2.39 m · 35 days above the normal rangeWinter 2012–13: highest 3.32 m on 26 November 2012 · 73 days above the normal rangeWinter 2013–14: highest 2.66 m · 79 days above the normal rangeWinter 2014–15: highest 1.76 m · 31 days above the normal rangeWinter 2015–16: highest 3.36 m on 10 March 2016 · 53 days above the normal rangeWinter 2016–17: highest 1.87 m · 23 days above the normal rangeWinter 2017–18: highest 2.53 m · 47 days above the normal rangeWinter 2018–19: highest 1.71 m · 22 days above the normal rangeWinter 2020–21: highest 3.14 m on 25 December 2020 · 62 days above the normal rangeWinter 2021–22: highest 2.01 m · 33 days above the normal rangeWinter 2022–23: highest 2.23 m · 62 days above the normal rangeWinter 2023–24: highest 3.65 m on 3 January 2024 · 119 days above the normal rangeWinter 2024–25: highest 3.30 m on 7 January 2025 · 62 days above the normal rangeWinter 2025–26: highest 2.74 m · 85 days above the normal range’97–98’23–24’06–07Record 3.95 m, 1998Top of normal range
1990–912025–26
The highest days on record
  • 10 April 19983.95 m
  • 3 January 20243.65 m
  • 21 July 20073.47 m
  • 10 March 20163.36 m
  • 10 February 20243.33 m
  • 26 November 20123.32 m

The River Avon has topped its normal range on 1,671 days since 1990, most in the winters of 2023–24 and 2000–01. By its highest day, the winter of 2025–26 was the 14th-highest of the 35.

Environment Agency Hydrology API, Warwick (station 2091), daily maximum level; the record and normal range from the EA’s stage scale. Live river levels are on GOV.UK’s Check for flooding.

Flood warnings

No flood warning or alert is in force for Royal Leamington Spa · 30 warnings in 20 years

The Environment Agency has 6 flood warning areas and 2 alert areas reaching into the town; warnings since the service began in 2006.

Now: no flood warnings or alerts for Royal Leamington Spa (checked 13 November 2026, 04:22). Check for flooding on GOV.UK →
Warnings and alerts each year for areas in Royal Leamington Spa
06
07
08
09
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
Flood warning (flooding expected)Flood alert (flooding possible)

Of the 30 warnings, 16 were for River Leam at Leamington A and 10 for River Avon at Warwick. 2012 had the most warnings (8); 2024 the most alerts (36).

The most recent warning was on 6 January 2025.

Show the 8 warning and alert areas
AreaKindSince 2006Now
River Leam at Leamington AWarning area16None
River Avon at WarwickWarning area10None
River Avon at Guys Cliffe and EmscoteWarning area4None
River Leam at Leamington DWarning area0None
River Leam at Leamington BWarning area0None
River Leam at Leamington CWarning area0None
River Leam and River ItchenAlert area187None
Middle Avon Rugby to BidfordAlert area89None

Environment Agency Historic Flood Warnings (first issues only, not updates; “flood watch” counted as an alert before 2011) and the real-time flood-monitoring API. Sign up for free warnings on GOV.UK or call Floodline, 0345 988 1188.

Radon

Parts of Royal Leamington Spa are in radon Affected Areas, up to the 10–30% band

Radon is a natural radioactive gas from the ground; long exposure raises the risk of lung cancer. The atlas gives the chance that a home in each 1 km square is above the UK action level (200 Bq/m³).

SP3064: Under 1% of homes above the action levelSP3065: Under 1% of homes above the action levelSP3066: Under 1% of homes above the action levelSP3067: 5–10% of homes above the action levelSP3163: Under 1% of homes above the action levelSP3164: Under 1% of homes above the action levelSP3165: Under 1% of homes above the action levelSP3166: Under 1% of homes above the action levelSP3167: Under 1% of homes above the action levelSP3168: 10–30% of homes above the action levelSP3263: Under 1% of homes above the action levelSP3264: Under 1% of homes above the action levelSP3265: Under 1% of homes above the action levelSP3266: 3–5% of homes above the action levelSP3267: 3–5% of homes above the action levelSP3268: Under 1% of homes above the action levelSP3363: Under 1% of homes above the action levelSP3364: 3–5% of homes above the action levelSP3365: 1–3% of homes above the action levelSP3366: 3–5% of homes above the action levelSP3367: 3–5% of homes above the action levelSP3368: 3–5% of homes above the action level© OpenStreetMap contributors · BGS/UKHSA
Under 1%1–3%3–5%5–10%10–30%
Share of the town’s area in each band
Under 1% of homes66%
1–3% of homes1%
3–5% of homes32%
5–10% of homes0%
10–30% of homes0%

34% of Royal Leamington Spa’s built-up area is in a radon Affected Area (1% of homes or more above the action level), and 1% in squares of 5% or more, mostly on the north-west side of the town.

The squares are indicative: each takes the highest band found anywhere inside it, so most homes in a coloured square are below it. Only a three-month test in the home gives a real answer.

BGS/UKHSA Indicative Atlas of Radon in Great Britain, version 3. Check an address at UKradon.org.

Neighbours

Flood risk in the places around Royal Leamington Spa

Share of homes at high or medium and at low risk from rivers and the sea. Tap a town for its page.

Whitnash: Hazard risk ARadford Semele: Hazard risk ACubbington: Hazard risk C−Warwick: Hazard risk DLeek Wootton: Hazard risk C+Bishop's Tachbrook: Hazard risk AHampton Magna: Hazard risk AWhitnashRadford SemeleCubbingtonWarwickLeek WoottonBishop's TachbrookHampton MagnaRoyal Leamington Spa
ABCD
TownPeopleHigh or mediumLowHazard
Royal Leamington Spa51,3210.5%4.3%C+
Whitnash8,9140%0%A
Radford Semele2,3010%0%A
Cubbington3,8952.5%0.7%C−
Warwick36,6734.1%6.2%D
Leek Wootton1,0030.5%0%C+
Bishop's Tachbrook2,0860%0%A
Hampton Magna1,6360%0%A

Warwick, 2.1 miles west, has the most homes at risk around Royal Leamington Spa (4.1% at high or medium).

Be ready

Get ready for what Royal Leamington Spa faces

Free warnings, what to do in a cloudburst, and what to check before you move.

Get the warnings
  • Sign up free for Environment Agency flood warnings by text, call or email.
  • Floodline: 0345 988 1188, 24 hours.
  • Royal Leamington Spa’s warning areas include River Leam at Leamington D and River Leam at Leamington C.
Sign up ↗
In a cloudburst
  • Surface water rises in minutes, often with no warning issued: stay out of underpasses and dips.
  • Keep the gullies and drains outside your home clear of leaves.
  • Report a blocked road drain to the council.
Radon
  • Test over three months, in a living room and a bedroom.
  • Above 200 Bq/m³, a small sump and fan usually fixes it.
  • New homes in radon areas are built with protection: basic from 3%, full from 10%.
UKradon ↗
Before you buy or rent in Royal Leamington Spa
  • Check the address on GOV.UK’s long-term flood risk service: it gives rivers and sea and surface water separately.
  • Ask whether the home has flooded or had a flood insurance claim; the TA6 property form asks the seller.
  • Homes built before 2009 can get flood cover through Flood Re, the government-backed scheme; newer homes can’t.
  • Check radon for the address on UKradon.org (a small fee) or ask the seller for a test result.
How to read these numbers

What this data can and can’t tell you

  • Defences are counted. Both agencies’ maps allow for flood defences and the chance they are overtopped or fail, so a town behind a defence scheme can show few homes at high risk and many at low risk.
  • Surface water is our estimate. Neither agency publishes a count of homes at risk from surface water, so we read each address on the map. A flat on a hill and a basement in a dip can share a postcode.
  • Past floods are what was recorded. The flood outlines come from surveys, aerial photographs and reports; many small floods, and most surface-water floods, were never mapped.
  • One town, many streets. Risk is street by street. Check a specific address on GOV.UK’s long-term flood risk service before you buy or rent.

Check the long-term flood risk for an address on GOV.UK →

Questions about flooding and hazards in Royal Leamington Spa

Does Royal Leamington Spa flood?

The last flood the Environment Agency recorded inside the town was in April 1998. 0.5% of homes are at high or medium risk from rivers and the sea on the Environment Agency’s maps, which allow for flood defences. About 6.1% of homes are at high or medium risk from surface water, when heavy rain overwhelms the drains. Royal Leamington Spa grades C+ for hazard risk against UK towns.

Which parts of Royal Leamington Spa are at risk of flooding?

From rivers and the sea, the places the Environment Agency warns directly: River Leam at Leamington A, River Avon at Warwick, River Avon at Guys Cliffe and Emscote and River Leam at Leamington D. Surface water can collect in low spots anywhere in the town. Check a specific address on GOV.UK’s long-term flood risk service.

When did Royal Leamington Spa last flood?

The recorded flood outlines inside the town run from 1985 to 1998 (2 years); the largest was in 1998. Flood warnings have been issued for parts of the town since 2006, most recently on 6 January 2025.

Is Royal Leamington Spa at risk of surface water flooding?

About 2.9% of homes are at high risk and 3.2% at medium risk from surface water, against 0.5% at high or medium risk from rivers and the sea. Surface water floods come with little warning, and the agencies don’t issue warnings for them.

Is radon a problem in Royal Leamington Spa?

34% of the town’s built-up area is in a radon Affected Area on the BGS/UKHSA atlas, and 1% is in 1 km squares where 5% or more of homes may be above the action level. Most homes are below it; a three-month test is the only way to know.

Are there flood warnings in Royal Leamington Spa now?

No flood warning or alert was in force near Royal Leamington Spa at 13 November 2026, 04:22. Live warnings are on GOV.UK’s Check for flooding service and Floodline, 0345 988 1188.

Contains Environment Agency information © Environment Agency and/or database right 2026. Contains British Geological Survey materials © UKRI 2026.

Sources: Environment Agency Risk of Flooding from Rivers and Sea, postcodes in areas at risk (June 2026); Natural Resources Wales Flood Risk Assessment Wales (May 2026); ONS Census 2021 households by postcode · Environment Agency Risk of Flooding from Surface Water (NaFRA2, 2025) and Natural Resources Wales Flood Risk Assessment Wales surface water and small watercourses, read at every address (ONS National Statistics UPRN Lookup, September 2026) and weighted by Census 2021 households by postcode · Environment Agency Recorded Flood Outlines and Natural Resources Wales historic flood map, inside the ONS 2022 built-up-area boundary · Environment Agency Hydrology API (daily maximum river level) and flood-monitoring stage scales · Environment Agency real-time flood-monitoring API · Environment Agency Historic Flood Warnings (January 2006 to June 2026) and flood warning and alert areas · BGS/UKHSA Indicative Atlas of Radon in Great Britain, version 3, by 1 km square · TownRatings grades: our own summary of the data, ranked against UK towns only. All under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026 (ONS boundaries). Northern Ireland: Source: NISRA; contains Land & Property Services data and Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland information, © Crown copyright, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Scotland: contains National Records of Scotland data, Registers of Scotland data and SEPA data, © Crown copyright / © SEPA 2025, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.