Does OL16 3PA flood?

Milnrow, Rochdale

Up to High likelihood

Properties in OL16 3PA sit in the Environment Agency's High flood-likelihood band (worst property). The band is the worst found in the postcode — it describes the land around properties (defence-adjusted, rivers & sea), not any single address, and not today's conditions.

Likelihood bandAnnual chancePropertiesOf which homes
Highgreater than 3.3%11
Medium1% – 3.3%22
Low0.1% – 1%66
Very lowbelow 0.1%00

Over a 25-year mortgage, a property in a high-likelihood area has at least a 57% chance of flooding at least once.

How much rain falls on OL16 3PA

OL16 3PA gets about 1,243 mm of rain a year on average (wettest month December, 143 mm; driest April, 72 mm). That is close to the UK as a whole, which averages 1,163 mm a year.

A thirty-year average for the surrounding area, not a measurement at this address and not a flood risk on its own: a dry area floods when a storm sits over it, and a wet one may drain away perfectly well. Source: Met Office HadUK-Grid 1991–2020 (5 km grid), 0.6 km away. Average rainfall: HadUK-Grid v1.3.2, Met Office. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

The ground around OL16 3PA

The ground here sits at about 152 m above sea level and falls 48 m across the surrounding 800 m. Surface water reaching this point runs off ground lying to the north-east, 34.1 m higher.

Shaded relief map of the ground around OL163PA, computed from Environment Agency LiDAR. The ground here sits at about 152 m above sea level and falls 48 m across the surrounding 800 m. Surface water reaching this point runs off ground lying to the north-east, 34.1 m higher.
Shaded relief of the bare ground within about 400 m of OL16 3PA, computed from the Environment Agency's published LiDAR terrain survey. The ring marks the postcode centre, not a property. This shows the shape of the land, not a flood map — it does not include drains, culverts, walls or kerbs, and the official likelihood band above is the authoritative figure. © Environment Agency copyright and/or database right 2022. All rights reserved.

The watercourse nearest OL16 3PA

The nearest watercourse on the river map is the River Beal, about 250 m from the centre of OL16 3PA. It flows into the River Roch about 3.5 km downstream.

A gauge downstream shows water that has already passed this point; one upstream sees it first. Distances along the river are from the point on the River Beal nearest the centre of OL16 3PA. From Ordnance Survey’s river map (OS Open Rivers), which leaves out small streams, ditches and culverts, so a nearer one may exist. This describes where water goes on the map; it says nothing about flooding at any address. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database rights 2026.

Instant access · no account needed · 14-day money-back guarantee or see the free preview first
Get the full flood report for OL16 3PA — £19 Free preview first · instant access · no account needed The detail below — flood history, warnings, rivers, overflows — is part of FloodRadar's property flood-risk report. The official band above is free; the preview shows more before you decide.

Inside the full report for OL16 3PA

FloodRadarProperty Flood-Risk Report
OL16 3PA
Elevated flood risk — professional assessment recommended

Because properties in the high likelihood band; 6 recorded flood outlines mapped nearby; 191 official warnings since 2006.

E Today — indicative grade (A best → E)
··· By the 2050s — EA climate scenario (in the full report)
⚑ Official warning within 10 km: Yes ⚑ Recorded flood outline within ~1 km: Yes ⚑ Flood defence mapped within 500 m: Yes ⚑ In flood zone 2 or 3: ···
Rivers & sea
Up to High
Surface water
···
Groundwater
Not assessed
Historic flooding
Recorded nearby
Warning history · flood map with building picker · 2050s view · insurance outlook · every dataset receipt — 18 sections

Flood-risk map of this area

Environment Agency flood-likelihood cells
High (>3.3%/yr) Medium Low Very low Marker = postcode centre Base map © OpenStreetMap contributors

The map above shows the real EA rivers & sea likelihood cells around OL16 3PA. The small panels are illustrative previews of the report's per-layer map views — the full report draws each layer for real, plus recorded extents, defences and a building picker on an interactive map.

Official flood warnings near OL16 3PA

191
flood alerts & warnings within 10 km since 2006
99
of them full flood warnings or severe warnings
2025
most recent warning nearby (2025-12-14)

Warnings cover flood areas, not individual addresses.

Recorded flood outlines near this postcode

DateMapped flood extentApprox. distance
Feb 2022 2022 February Flood Incident -Storm Dudley, Eunice and Franklin ~43.9 km
Feb 2020 2020 February Flood Incident - Storm Dennis ~77.1 km
Dec 2015 Lily Street, Milnrow ~0.7 km
Dec 2015 Butterworth Hall ~0.0 km
Dec 2015 Two Bridges Road ~1.2 km
Jan 2008 EA01327_21 January 2008_Piethorne Brook_Newhey ~1.1 km

These are extents the Environment Agency has mapped, not a list of every flood. Records, not floods: no outline on the record is not evidence a place has not flooded. The full report tests whether any extent covered the exact spot.

The rivers that matter for OL16 3PA

GaugeRiverDistanceTypical highHighest on record
Station Road River Beal 0.4 km 1.92 m 1.86 m
Beal Bridge River Beal 1.2 km 0.72 m 1.17 m
Bridge Street Shaw River Beal 2.6 km 0.86 m 1.38 m
Albert Royds Bridge River Roch 3.0 km 1.50 m 2.43 m

Live levels, predictions and rain-response behaviour are on each gauge's page and in the property report.

Storm overflows within 5 km

OverflowDischarges intoDistanceSpillsHours
Shaw Main Outfall River Beal 1.1 km 25 (2024) 255
Shaw Road Cso River Beal 1.2 km 2 (2024) 0
Ashes Lane Cso River Beal 1.2 km 53 (2024) 547
Peppermint Bridge Cso Piethorne Brook Trib Rvr Beal 1.3 km 61 (2024) 789

Official annual EDM figures — a water-quality signal for local watercourses, not a property flood-risk factor.

Flood defences

31 mapped flood-defence assets within 500 m — nearest ~23 m (natural high ground). Defences reduce risk, never remove it.

What the full property report adds

The interactive flood-risk map with a building picker (your exact house, not the postcode), the 2050s climate view, surface-water and planning flood zones at your building, exact recorded-flood distances, year-by-year warning charts, watercourses including culverted streams, an insurance outlook with the Flood Re rules, and a printable document with every dataset receipt — start with the free preview, unlock for £19.

Flood risk at nearby postcodes

At-risk postcodes near OL16 3PA — all in the OL16 district.

© Environment Agency copyright and/or database right 2025. All rights reserved. Some features of this map are based on digital spatial data from the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, © NERC (CEH). © Crown Copyright and Database Rights 2025 OS AC0000807064. This product is produced in part from PAF® and Multiple Residence Data, the copyright in which is owned by Royal Mail Group Limited and/or Royal Mail Group plc. All rights reserved. Licence number AC0000807064. Place names: Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database rights 2026. Contains Royal Mail data © Royal Mail copyright and database right 2026. Contains National Statistics data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. Licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Recorded Flood Outlines and warning history © Environment Agency copyright and/or database right 2025. Storm-overflow figures: EA Event Duration Monitoring (England); live overflow status © the water companies, incl. Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water and Scottish Water. Flood defences © Environment Agency (OGL v3). This page summarises public area-level data — it is not a flood-risk survey and not a substitute for the official GOV.UK service. All data sources & licences. More postcodes: the OL16 district.