Agenda item

The Committee considered a report of the Director of Environment and Transport, the purpose of which was to seek the views of the Committee on the draft updated Local Flood Risk Management Strategy for Leicestershire (LLFRMS) as part of the public consultation. The update had been provided by the Council in its role as the Lead Local Flood Authority (LLFA). The LLFRMS detailed the principles, objectives and measures by which local flood risk is to be managed in Leicestershire, and specified the roles and responsibilities of the Council, partner organisations and the public. A copy of the report marked ‘Agenda Item 10’ is filed with these minutes.

The Cabinet Lead Member for Highways, Transportation and Flooding thanked officers for the thorough work that had been undertaken on what was a very complex issue.

Arising from discussion, the following points arose:

(i)          A Member asked for clarity around revisions to the thresholds criteria for formal flood investigations, specifically in respect of two commercial properties that had flooded, and asked if they were small retail units, or warehouses with substantial commercial impact if flooded. Members were informed that the criteria were not absolute, and that the Director would use discretion to undertake formal investigation when it was considered necessary. It was further noted the Formal Flood Investigations Policy had been amended to bring it up to meet national guidance, and for responses to be consistent, to allow for quicker response with proportionate resources dedicated to incidents.

(ii)         A Member questioned if the County Council maintained its own flooding records, or whether it relied on those of the Environment Agency (EA). Members noted that, in terms of evidence bases and formal processes like consultation for development, the EA’s records were the first point of reference, but that the Council was also building up records of response, complaints and incidents investigated, and evidence could be used to challenge the EA’s records that were not quite correct.  It was envisaged that discrepancies would become less as records were developed.

(iii)       A Member queried how culverts were managed in the Strategy, as not all of them appeared to be the County Council’s responsibility, with some falling under Town Council responsibility, and others looked after by Severn Trent, as culverts potentially caused downstream flooding risk. Members were informed that the mapping and understanding of the asset infrastructure was a huge challenge but mapping these had been a good process undertaken to help manage flood risks better in future. This work was still in progress.

RESOLVED:

That the Committee supported the draft Leicestershire Local Flood Risk Management Strategy.