Minutes:
The Committee
considered a report of the Flooding
Scrutiny Review Panel. A copy of the report marked ‘Agenda Item 10’ is filed
with these minutes.
Mrs. M. Wright CC
Chairman of the Scrutiny Review Panel introduced the report. She advised members that the
Panel had been established following significant flooding events in October
and November 2019. The purpose of review was to
consider the role of the Council as Lead Local Flood Authority and its
partnership working with flood risk management
authorities.
Arising from the
discussion the following points were noted:-
i.Flooding can have devastating effects on
residents’ lives which could leave them away from their home for
an unspecified time in the aftermath. Flooding events often came at
unpredictable times in unforeseen places, the Council needed to ensure that
communications reflected this and that residents were aware and informed
of potential flood risk. It was evident that those who had never
experienced a flood were often at risk of experiencing the most severe impact.
ii.The Environment Agency operated a
24/7 Floodline and provided a service that allowed residents to find out
whether they were within a flood zone, and any warnings. Members were asked to
encourage their residents to
sign up for the Service.
iii.Members felt it was important that the Authority looked to make
partners accountable to residents in completion of actions arising from Section
19 investigations.
iv.The Flood Risk Management Team had
experienced staffing shortages due to the high demand on the skill set required
which resulted in high turnover. During the review Members had been pleased to
note that recruitment was ongoing and that support from external consultants had
reduced in more recent months as a result.
v.The Flood Risk Management Team were
completing detailed Section-19 Investigations into the causes of flooding
in Stoney Stanton and Cossington. Final modelling work was still to be
completed before final conclusions could be reached. Local
Members would be kept informed as the matters progressed.
vi.Local planning
authorities were responsible for approving any new developments and
taking any comments from Leicestershire County Council, as Lead Local Flood
Authority, on board. In this regard it was noted that only planning
authorities could enforce mitigating measures and ensure developments were up
to the agreed standard as approved.
vii.The Committee was of the view that that the Government needed to do more to require
flood mitigation measures be built as standard on houses built on flood
plains as LPA’s could only work to national regulations.
The County Council could not influence such measures.
viii.Mr Harrison CC
emphasised the role Members could play as Community Champions setting out the positive experience
within Appleby Magna where the community had stepped up and worked
together with partners to put mitigating measures in place.
ix.Members further agreed it
was important that parishes and residents looked at their own
risk and looked to build resilience within their communities through
initiatives such as the Volunteer Flood Warden scheme.
In conclusion Mr B. Pain CC,
Deputy Leader, stated that while the Water Management Act
assigned the Council the role of Lead Local Flood Authority, it
had no enforcement powers and current legislation did not
provide the Authority with the ability to compel risk management
authorities to take action, even
when identified as part of Section-19 Investigations.
Members thanked the
Scrutiny Review Panel for their detailed report on the matter and looked
forward to receiving a progress report in the coming months, following approval from Cabinet.
RESOLVED:
a.
That the report be recommended for
consideration by Cabinet on 5
February 2021.
b.
That Cabinet be asked to make
representations to Government to strengthen the legislation to enable the County Council as
Lead Local Flood Authority to require relevant agencies to
complete mitigating measures arising from Section 19 reports.
c.
That the annual progress report to Committee
setting out how many agencies have committed to actions within Section 19
reports.
Supporting documents: