Agenda item

The Council is required to draw up a Local Flood Strategy by October 2023. The work has been allocated as inland and coastal flood risks.

1.    To accept the report and to recommend:

(i)             that information about the risk in terms of roads flooding, as well as the risk to property, should be included in the Local Flood Strategy;

(ii)            that awareness should be raised amongst all residents of how to prepare for flooding.

2.    That the Committee scrutinises the Local Flood Strategy following the public consultation at its meeting on 22 February 2024.

The report was submitted by the Cabinet Member for Highways and Municipal and Gwynedd Consultancy. ⁠Attention was drawn briefly to the following main points: 

It was explained that the Local Flood Risk Management Strategy was one of the requirements of the Flood and Water Management Act 2021 and that it needed to be consistent with the National Strategy published last year. It was reported that there was a need to amend the Strategy to correspond with the statutory requirements by spring 2024.

It was confirmed that the 5 main Objectives of this amended Strategy were:

1.    Aim to reduce the level of risk of flooding and coastal erosion for Gwynedd residents.

2.    Developing further understanding of flood risk to Gwynedd and the impacts of climate change.

3.    Continue to work with all relevant bodies to ensure appropriate and sustainable development in Gwynedd.

4.    Raising awareness of local flood and coastal erosion risk

5.    ⁠Work collaboratively with all other Risk Management Authorities and relevant groups/bodies to ensure a coordinated response to flooding and coastal erosion incidents.

It was explained that currently the entire Strategy had not been drafted but that the Report and the Appendices displayed the types of information that the plan will include. It was confirmed that the Objectives had been formulated in response to the challenges seen in Gwynedd. A request was made for the Committee to consider scrutinising the full Strategy following a period of statutory consultation.

A Member noted his support to consult with communities in areas where the risks of flooding was high but that there was also a need to include communities in areas with a secondary flooding risk. It was acknowledged that there was a need for all residents to be aware of the Strategy and how to respond when flooding occurred as some areas become isolated as flooding closes roads, leading to medical care difficulties, access to shops and several other problems. It was emphasised that there was an invitation for everyone to participate in the statutory consultation to ensure that as much information as possible was fed into the final document, and that systems were in place to share information and keep Gwynedd residents safe.

In response to an enquiry on the use of soft terminology such as 'aiming' within the report documentation, it was confirmed that the language was used due to restrictions on the Council. It was confirmed that some elements within the field were the responsibility of bodies beyond the Council, and under the Government’s control and therefore it was difficult to currently use robust wording without an understanding of the Government's aspirations.

It was acknowledged that specifying responsibilities amongst partners had been challenging in the past, but an understanding had been reached as the relationship between them developed. It was emphasised that the full strategy would highlight the responsibilities of all partners in the future. It was explained that the partners go beyond their responsibilities in emergency situations.

In response to a question by a member, it was noted that the emergency planning meetings were held regularly and that there was an intention to hold a exercise to ensure the resilience of the plans to respond to flooding incidents.

A member enquired about the arrangements to fund work in the flooding field. In response, it was noted that the work that could be achieved was dependent on grants. It was elaborated that changing from the method of specific grant funding to be included in the revenue support grant would mean that there would be an impact on attracting other grants in the future.

All members were encouraged to attend the consultation meetings and to encourage residents in their wards to voice their opinions. The officers were thanked for their work.

RESOLVED

1.    To accept the report and to recommend:

(i)             that information about the risk in terms of roads flooding, as well as the risk to property, should be included in the Local Flood Strategy;

(ii)           that awareness should be raised amongst all residents of how to prepare for flooding.

2.    That the Committee scrutinises the Local Flood Strategy following the public consultation at its meeting on 22 February 2024.