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Does Higher Folds flood?

Wigan
20postcodes in the EA rivers-and-sea dataset
12river gauges within 10 km
10years with a mapped flood record within 5 km
🏠 Thinking of buying in Higher Folds? Get the detailed Property Flood-Risk Report for any Higher Folds postcode — official risk band, recorded floods since 1703, warning history, river behaviour and nearby storm overflows. £19 one-off, instant. Learn more →

What the Environment Agency's rivers-and-sea flood-risk data says about Higher Folds

Ordnance Survey places 20 postcodes in Higher Folds in the Environment Agency's rivers-and-sea flood-risk dataset (Risk of Flooding from Rivers and Sea). Each postcode is counted once, under the worst band any of its properties reaches; together they hold 359 properties in the EA dataset's likelihood bands.

EA likelihood bandPostcodes (worst band)Properties in the EA datasetof which homes
High13210206
Medium13939
Low6110107
Very low000
All bands20359352

This dataset covers flooding from rivers and the sea only — one of five flood sources. Surface water, groundwater, sewers and reservoirs are assessed separately, so a postcode missing from it is not proof that a place cannot flood. The band describes the land around properties (allowing for defences), not any single address and not today's conditions.

Rivers and live river levels near Higher Folds

Environment Agency gauges within 10 km of Higher Folds watch Atherton Lake Brook, Shakerley Brook, Ellenor Brook, Westleigh Brook, Carr Brook, Whittle Brook, Glaze Brook, Borsdane Brook, Worsley Brook, Hey Brook.

Distances are from the middle of Higher Folds's at-risk postcodes. Tidal and structure gauges are shown as readings only — the tide and sluice gates move them, not floods. A gauge with no recent reading shows no level.

The watercourse nearest Higher Folds

The nearest watercourse on the river map is Cooling Lane Brook, about 220 m from the middle of Higher Folds's at-risk postcodes. It flows into Pen Leach Brook about 390 m 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 Cooling Lane Brook nearest the middle of Higher Folds's at-risk postcodes. 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.

Flood warning areas near Higher Folds

23 Environment Agency flood warning areas lie within 10 km of Higher Folds. The EA has issued 94 flood warnings and alerts for them since 2006, most recently on 24 Oct 2026.

Recorded floods near Higher Folds

Floods whose mapped extent (EA Recorded Flood Outlines) reached within ~5 km of Higher Folds, most recent first. Records, not floods: no outline on the record is not evidence a place has not flooded. See them on the map →

…and 3 earlier recorded floods on the map.

Rainfall near Higher Folds

Higher Folds gets about 999 mm of rain a year on average (wettest month December, 110 mm; driest April, 62 mm). That is close to the UK as a whole, which averages 1,163 mm a year. Source: Met Office HadUK-Grid 1991–2020 (5 km grid), 1.7 km from the place centre.

The nearest rain gauge, Rainfall station (1.2 km away), recorded 5.2 mm in the last 24 hours and 59.8 mm in the last 7 days (latest reading 24 min ago).

At-risk postcodes in Higher Folds

Every postcode Ordnance Survey places in Higher Folds that appears in the EA's rivers-and-sea dataset, worst band first. Each links to its own flood-risk page.

High likelihood (13)

WN7 2TXWN7 2TYWN7 2TZWN7 2UAWN7 2UBWN7 2UGWN7 2UHWN7 2UJWN7 2ULWN7 2UNWN7 2UQWN7 2UYWN7 2YL

Medium likelihood (1)

WN7 2TR

Low likelihood (6)

WN7 2TSWN7 2UUWN7 2UWWN7 2UZWN7 2YHWN7 2YN

Postcode districts

WN7 · 20

Sources

FloodRadar summarises public flood data. It is not a flood-risk survey of any property, and it does not replace official GOV.UK flood warnings or the GOV.UK long-term flood risk service.

Flood-risk bands: © 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.

Recorded Flood Outlines, flood warning areas and warning history © Environment Agency copyright and/or database right 2025. Licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

River levels and rainfall: Environment Agency real-time flood-monitoring data, updated every 15 minutes (Open Government Licence v3.0).

Average rainfall: HadUK-Grid v1.3.2, Met Office. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

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.

All data sources & licences