Issue - meetings

To consider the Borough's overarching approach to flood risk management in exercise of the powers granted under Section 9FH of the Local Government Act 2000 to review and scrutinise flood risk management.

Louise Osborn, Emergency Planning Manager, and Kevin Tidy, Assistant Engineer, presented a report on the Flood and Water Management Act 2010 and the Local Flood Risk Management Strategy.

The Council had a number of significant new duties in respect of flooding and flood risk management. Bracknell Forest Council identified as the Lead Local Flood Authority (LLFA) had a duty to comply with the Flood and Water Management Act (FWMA) (2010) and to manage present and future flood risk holistically and in a sustainable manner.

The associated duties of the FWMA had led the Environment Culture & Communities Department to manage flood risk for a period of 18 months to understand these duties and work through the funding sources and resource implications.

The preparation of the Local Flood Risk Management Strategy (LFRMS) was just one of the key duties placed on the LLFA. There had been increased national public awareness of flooding and this strategy would be used to determine how flood risk would be managed now and in the future in a local context.

A new post had been recruited to help develop the LFRMS, and the FWMA had come into force as a result of the extreme floods of 2007. Flood Risk Regulations came into force in 2009 which transposed the EU Flood Directive into UK legislation. This required all LLFAs to produce a Preliminary Flood Risk Assessment which involved collecting information on past flood history and identifying future flood risk areas.

The Borough was not at risk of significant flooding and where flooding had taken place it had been surface water flooding caused by intense rainfall. One key issue was sustainable drainage, and support had been sought to help with the work which needed to be undertaken. The three key areas were improvement, maintenance and prevention. Work was being undertaken with other agencies such as Thames Water and National Rail, and there was a proactive approach.

In response to Members’ questions, the following points were made:

• When Bracknell Forest Council (BFC) became the drainage approval body it would have more control.
• The Flood Management Plan would be integrated with the Planning process and there would be co-ordination in relation to major new developments.
• Structures referred to in the asset register were, for example, ditches. Assets and ownership of structures would be identified to help identify responsibility in relation to, for example, drainage.
• The process for reporting flooding had not changed. Calls should be made to Customer Services at BFC and these would be logged with the Highways team. Criteria would be established for investigation and publishing of flooding incidents.
• There would be additional funding to facilitate work and fee setting for permits and Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems approvals were expected. A self-funding model was favoured.