Issue - meetings

The Surrey Local Flood Risk Management Strategy (hereafter the Strategy) meets a legal requirement for the County Council  to set out how partners are working together to reduce flood risk. This document provides, for the first time, an overview of the ongoing flood risk management work underway across Surrey. The organisations in Surrey with responsibility for flood risk management have worked together to produce the Strategy. Partner organisations and the public were consulted to further develop the Strategy. The Surrey Flood Risk Partnership Board oversees the Strategy.

Residents and businesses do not always distinguish between different types of flood risk; the impact is their key concern. The Strategy will therefore illustrate levels of risk within the county from all sources of flood risk.

Extreme weather events appear to be on the rise, many of Surrey’s existing homes and businesses are built in the floodplain and funding is limited. However, through the Strategy there is an opportunity to coordinate services so that the risk of flooding is reduced through a prioritised investment programme. Theintention is that the impact of flood incidents is as minimal as possible.

The Environment Agency has undertaken a review of the significant winter flood incidents in 2013/14 associated with the main rivers in Surrey and Surrey County Council is currently carrying out Section 19 reports into the flooding incidents associated with surface water, groundwater and watercourse flooding. This is required under Section 19 of the Flood and Water Management Act 2010. The Surrey Flood Risk Partnership Board will review the Section 19 reports over the coming year. Surrey’s risk management authorities will need to address the concerns raised in the reports.

[The decisions on this item can be called in by the Environment and Transport Select Committee]

1.         That the Surrey Local Flood Risk Management Strategy and action plan be approved and adopted as set out in the appendices to the submitted report.

2.         That active engagement be undertaken with all risk management authorities through the Surrey Flood Risk Partnership Board.

3.        That the Council publicises the findings of the Flood and Water Management Section 19 investigations on the external website.

Reasons for Decisions:

The Strategy is a statutory requirement under the Flood and Water Management Act 2010 and sets the framework for flood risk management in the county by the risk management authorities. The Strategy provides a framework for joint work with residents and businesses to reduce risk and prepare for the future.

[The decisions on this item can be called in by the Environment and Transport Select Committee]

The Cabinet Member for Highways, Transport and Flooding introduced the Surrey Local Flood Risk Management Strategy and explained that the County Council had a legal requirement to set out how partners would work together to reduce flood risk including who had responsibility and where this lay. He highlighted the Section 19 reports and informed Members that these are the responsibility of the Environment Agency but that the Council had a role to play in these.

He said that the flooding events from earlier in 2014 had been extreme and the longevity of these had been unexpected. They had proved demanding on the Council and its partners but relationships had held up and demonstrated a high level of partnership working. He stated that the Council had consulted fully on the Strategy and responses were shown in annex 2 of the submitted report. He also drew Members attention to the Equalities Impact Assessment particularly in relation to older people, disabled people and those that were pregnant.

The Cabinet Member for Public Health and Health & Wellbeing referred to paragraph 10 of the submitted report regarding insurance to which the Cabinet Member for Highways, Transport and Flooding replied that there was an ongoing battle and that central government should make this a matter of urgency.

The Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care queried timescales of the Section 19 reports which the Cabinet Member for Highways, Transport and Flooding responded to stating that these reports have been received and ground water investigations were being undertaken and further information would come back to a Cabinet meeting in 2015.

The Cabinet Member for Community Services commended the knowledge of parish councils and praised partnership working during the flooding events last winter. She highlighted the need to extend the repair and renew grant application date and requested that information on this funding is better communicated.

The Leader of the Council expressed concern regarding the 300 Surrey families who were still displaced following the flooding events and stated that the Cabinet would support getting these people back into their homes.

RESOLVED:

1.         That the Surrey Local Flood Risk Management Strategy and action plan be approved and adopted as set out in the appendices to the submitted report.

2.         That active engagement be undertaken with all risk management authorities through the Surrey Flood Risk Partnership Board.

3.        That the Council publicises the findings of the Flood and Water Management Section 19 investigations on the external website.

Reasons for Decisions:

The Strategy is a statutory requirement under the Flood and Water Management Act 2010 and sets the framework for flood risk management in the county by the risk management authorities. The Strategy provides a framework for joint work with residents and businesses to reduce risk and prepare for the future.