Agenda item

This report updates on work undertaken by key agencies in the last year to increase the resilience of the Runnymede area to future flooding risks, and includes the latest Surrey Council Council Flood Risk Management Strategy which has been released for public consultation. Representatives from Surrey County Council, the Environment Agency and Applied Resilience will present the report.

The chairman welcomed Tor Peebles (Surrey County Council), Sarah Bouet (Environment Agency) and Elizabeth Fowler (Surrey County Council) to present their contributions to the meeting.

Tor Peebles explained that Surrey County Council, as a flood risk management authority, had three strands within its Strategic Network Resilience team:

·         Sustainable drainage (which comments on major new developments and whether the build could increase flood risk in the area)

·         Capital team (which focuses on areas prone to flooding and lobbies government for flood mitigation work/funds

·          Strategy & Partnerships – which develops strategy and links with partner agencies and the community.

He noted that the Flood Risk Management Strategy (first published in December 2014) has been fully reviewed and a new version was about to be launched for consultation.

Sarah Bouet highlighted the information on flood prevention maintenance work available from the Environment Agency website, and the telephone helpline to report any concerns and locations. She noted that the River Thames Scheme costs and benefits had been updated, and modelling of how it would be designed and operate had been completed, along with initial surveys of boreholes in the gravel substrata. She also noted that there were two sites in Runnymede where temporary flood defences might be deployed if needed, subject to bidding for this national resource.

Liz Fowler, community resilience officer covering the whole of Surrey, encouraged residents to look at www.surreycc.gov.uk/surreyprepared for information on how to be better prepared for any flooding in the area over the coming months, noting that training was available for local community groups or flood forums.

Members commented on an Environment Agency meeting on the River Thames Scheme held in Molesey earlier, and the significant amount yet to be raised to make it possible. The Cabinet member advised that he had lobbied the Chancellor (local MP Phillip Hammond) and was in dialogue with the Thames Regional Flood and Coastal Committee to highlight the business case. The cost to the area of the 2013-2014 flood was raised, and it was confirmed that the events amounted to £850m.

Members queried how the sustainable drainage team addressed additional risks from new development. Tor Peebles said that they fulfilled the response as Surrey County Council statutory consultee on all applications of more than 10 units, and lobbied government for additional funding to incorporate new drainage, as in a test case in Guildford.

Gill Warner asked, from the floor, if overflow of rainwater from drains was being addressed. John Furey advised that gullies were cleared regularly with frequency based on whether they were on an A, B or C class road, but that the age and capacity of the drainage system meant that large quantities in a short space of time could overwhelm some of the 136,000 gullies for which Surrey County Council is responsible. Residents could find further information on the website:  

https://www.surreycc.gov.uk/roads-and-transport/road-maintenance-and-cleaning/drainage-and-flooding

Malcolm Loveday of the Chertsey Society welcomed progress on the River Thames Scheme and asked if a high volume pump might be used in the event of the River Bourne flooding. He was advised that the Flood Risk Management Strategy did not go into such a level of detail, but set general conditions.