To present
a Draft copy of the Local Flood Strategy.
Decision:
To accept the report and to
recommend:
·
That more
information was required about the maintenance work programme for gulleys and
culverts in the Strategy.
·
Consideration
should be given to adapting the document so that only the current information
is noted about the Local Development Plans under points 4.1.4 and 4.1.5.
Minutes:
The report was presented by the Cabinet Member for Highways, Engineering
and YGC, Steffan Jones (Head of Highways, Engineering and YGC Department),
Rhydian Roberts (Chief Engineer) and Rob Williams (Water and Environment
Service Manager). Attention was drawn briefly to the following
main points:
Members were reminded that parts of the draft local flood strategy had
been submitted to the Committee meeting on 30 November 2023. In response to the
Committee's observations where it had been suggested that a risk from highway
flooding could have a substantial impact on our communities and that the
Strategy needed to address these risks sufficiently, attention was drawn to the
fact that a new action had been added to the strategy, namely Action 2.3A. It
was confirmed that a public consultation would be held on the Strategy for a
six-week period, commencing on 26 February 2024. It was ensured that the
department was in contact with the Communication service to ensure that as many
people as possible responded to the consultation, in order to
share local knowledge via a questionnaire or phone call. It was hoped that
residents would see the consultation being advertised in their local newspaper
and on social media; it would also be uploaded on the Members' website for them
to share it with their electors.
It was explained that developing a Local Flood Strategy was one of the
requirements of the Flood and Water Management Act 2010. It was also detailed
that the strategy had to be consistent with the National Flood Strategy
published by Welsh Government in 2023.
Members were reminded that the department had
submitted the proposal of considering inland and coastal flood risks separately
within the new Strategy, at the Committee meeting on 27 October 2022. It was
explained that they were being considered separately due to:
·
The nature of the risk and the ability to
mitigate them.
·
Difference in statutory and passive
roles/responsibilities
·
Policies and strategies along with differences
in the project funding structure by Welsh Government.
Members were guided through the Strategy and attention was drawn to
historical matters, area plans, the division of public bodies'
responsibilities, actions, financial matters and the
strategic objectives of improving understanding and awareness of flood risks.
It was reported that maintaining culverts and gullies was crucial to
manage water levels near roads and properties. It was confirmed that it had
been programmed to empty the culverts at least once a year with additional
attention to locations where difficulties had appeared regularly in the past.
It was detailed that culverts with flood risk management, located beyond
highway areas, received attention every fortnight in winter and every 4 weeks
in the summer. It was updated that two of the culverts were being monitored by
installed cameras, which sent messages when water levels were raised and
allowed them to receive timely attention. It was elaborated that this enabled
the department to take timely and more specific action.
It was explained that the department had a specific e-mail address and a
useful app to draw the department's attention to any problems relating to
culverts and gullies locally. Consideration was given to the possibility of
updating locations where the department had recently been working on a specific
map on the Members' website, allowing them to see whether the problems in their
areas had been resolved. It was noted that this had been developed for other
services such as salt bin locations and the department would investigate to see
if it would be possible to update it with this work. It was confirmed that the
Department would share the culvert and gully cleaning work programme with the
members.
In response to an enquiry, the Head of Highways, Engineering and YGC
confirmed that a change would be made to sections 4.1.4 and 4.1.5 of the Local
Flood Risk Management Strategy (Draft) to refer to the 'Current Plan' rather
than specific local development plans to ensure that the report was up-to-date.
It was reported that the Department was collaborating with the
Information Technology service on a sensors trial scheme. It was
noted that there were currently five sensors in operation which monitored the
change in water levels. It was confirmed that this allowed the Department to
resolve problems as they arose, and that red dots appeared on a map when
incidents were afoot. Pride was expressed that the Department had recently
received a national award for this innovative scheme.
It was confirmed that a public consultation on the strategy was about to
start and the responses of the consultation would be
submitted to the Cabinet, along with the Committee's observations. It was
ensured that Members would receive further information about local problems as
the Department attended the Area Forums over the next few weeks.
RESOLVED
To accept the report and to recommend:
·
That more information is required about the
maintenance work programme for gullies and culverts in the Strategy.
·
Consideration should be given to adapting the
document so that only the current information is noted about the Local
Development Plans under points 4.1.4 and 4.1.5.
Supporting documents: