Agenda item

In attendance for this item were:

Tim Smith, Flooding Analyst, Strategic Asset Management at Severn Trent

Dave Edwards, Senior Adviser at The Environment Agency

Directorate of Economy and Infrastructure:

Nigel Hudson, Head of Strategy and Infrastructure

Ian Bamforth, Highways & Public Rights of Way Operations Manager

Matt Maginnis, Flood Risk Manager

Emily Barker, Strategic Planning and Environmental Policy Officer

Cllr Tony Miller, Cabinet Member with Responsibility (CMR) for Environment

The Chairman thanked everyone for attending the meeting and invited those present to present the Flood Risk Management in Worcestershire Annual Report for 2018.

2018 had been dominated by the significant flooding in Wythall during which 300 properties had been flooded and this would be reflected through the annual Flood Risk Report. The response from local organisations and councillors during the Wythall incident had been very well received, although scrutiny was always important and the event had triggered the first formal flood investigation under the Council's statutory duty (Flood and Water Management Act 2010)

Considerable positive progress had been made during the year and the Report set out the rationale and importance of systems to capture information from events and also the critical role of partnership working, for example in completing a number of flood alleviation schemes.

Over 1600 planning applications had been assessed and commented on for drainage plans over the 12 month period, involving a mix of major and minor schemes, the cumulative impact of which needed to be addressed, although the increase in numbers of pre-application discussions was positive.

The Chairman flagged up concerns about a major application by Codex for 380 houses in his division, which the Secretary of State had given planning permission for. The area was very boggy, and he asked officers to look at this.

Paragraph 3.3 of the Report referred to 150 broken gully connections, when in fact there were 200 broken gully connections which had been repaired. The Flood Risk manager agreed to confirm this to the Panel in writing.

In terms of Ordinary Watercourse Management, it was reported that there was a good relationship with partners and it was rare to take any enforcement action.

The Environment Agency (EA) had continued to deliver its responsibility for the management of flood risk on the 'main rivers' and had responded to 25 planning application consultations and provided flood risk technical guidance on a number of major infrastructure projects and worked with the military to deliver its 'Warn, Inform and Winter Ready' Campaign.

Work on natural flood management sought to manage flow as early as possible to prevent problems further on and the EA had secured £500,000 Government funding for an exciting project focused on the Cotswold Tributaries, Dowles Brook and Barbourne Brook.

A Member referred to the £4m Flood Alleviation Scheme in Broadway to protect 250 homes, whereas 300 homes had actually flooded during the Hollywood event (in Wythall). Whilst acknowledging the unprecedented factors behind this event, local residents were terrified it may recur and he asked what was in progress in protect these homes and stressed the importance of natural flood management.

The Flood Risk Manager reported that a range of measures were being looked on the Alcester Road and also on green spaces. It was confirmed that the funding was not yet allocated. However, the Council was very successful at drawing in such funding from Government or the Regional Coastal Committee and would look to do so when the Plan was clearer.

A member asked whether the representatives present had looked at the  Redditch Eastern Gateway planning application part of which was in Warwickshire and the EA representative advised that applications were considered in respect of flood risk to properties, regardless of boundaries  - further information would be provided to Cllr Clayton.

Members asked whether block paving driveways impacted on flood risk and was advised that this absolutely was the case since any development increased the area of hard surfacing (urban creep). A 20% allowance was required.

Although permeable products were available, officers advised that advice to the public from paving companies about flooding impact and permeable options would depend on the company. Members felt this was an important issue to communicate to the public and also and asked whether urban creep and permeable products were fed into future planning applications and were advised that they were. Officers were keen to establish and support local flood groups with use of social media also.

Severn Trent Water Ltd had continued to deliver its flood risk management duties to take waste water away and risk management work through a range of activities and schemes including two large schemes at Hagley and Bourneheath. Instances of blockages were increasing, often due to wet wipes, which media campaigns had highlighted. Severn Trent continued to support the EA with schemes and was contributing to property flood resilience schemes and flood alleviation schemes which looked at capacity of the network to accommodate growth from development. Long-term planning was now much more high profile and worked in five-year cycles, the latest of which had just been submitted to Ofwat.

The Panel Chairman asked how much Severn Trent had invested in the network in Worcester in the last year, and Severn Trent agreed to follow this up.

A Panel member who was the County Councillor for Wythall asked what was being done regarding sewerage flooding in older areas, including the potential health risks, as experienced recently in his area. The representative from Severn Trent advised that they were working to increase capacity and remove surface water to reduce the likelihood of flooding. The suggestion to help with communications about health risks of sewerage flooding was acknowledged.

The Flood Risk and Gypsy Services Manager agreed to circulate the Incident Response Procedure to the Panel for information.

The CMR for Environment commented that Wythall was a perfect example of an area affected by planning applications, which were difficult to refuse but nonetheless impacted on infrastructure.

A Panel Members asked when planning applications were reviewed, whether the Council and partners were being robust enough with developers. The Severn Trent representative explained that whilst they worked with developers and were usually consulted on planning, the 'teeth' of the process lay with planning authorities and the 'right to connect' remained. Flooding was caused by rain water as well as urban creep and lack of network capacity. Developers were not required to pay Severn Trent and following a Supreme Court ruling, Severn Trent was responsible for enhancements to the network.

A member referred to last year's work on the Redditch Eastern Gateway and asked that in future for more consultation take place with the Council to aid co-ordination of works, to avoid knock on effects to other work being carries out.

The Panel suggested that information regarding flooding be circulated to all councillors, since it had proved very useful for the Panel members.

Contribution was invited from Cllr Hotham who was in the public seating, who asked about moving forward and how areas where flooding measures had been put in place, were revisited and maintained? Cllr Kent agreed that a key outcome from the Wythall experience (KR7 and KR8 in the Investigation Report) was identifying and monitoring maintenance of streams and gullies as well as educating the public so that garden features did not contribute to avoidable flooding; clear lines of responsibility were needed.

Regarding members' comments about ownership and maintenance of watercourses, the Council's officers highlighted everyone's role in this respect and advised that to a large extent the Council did so and carried out a lot of work to maintain assets, which was a constant cycle and targeted depending on known risks and weather forecasts. The database was excellent although further work was still needed to identify further areas of high risk. There were around 80 or 90 significant locations but around 1700 hotspots and so it was important to prioritise resources since not all of these could be looked at.

The Flood Risk Manager undertook to provide the Panel with a summary of how infrastructure was maintained.

Regarding the Hollywood flooding event, Cllr Kent (County Councillor for Wythall) wished to place on record his praise for the work of the Flood Risk Manager's team over the bank holiday weekend affected. The CMR also thanked the local councillors and pointed out the important role of social media in communications.