Agenda item - Surface Water Management Plan

Report of the Executive Director of Environment, Development & Housing (copy attached).

2.1             That Committee approves the Surface Water Management Plan to coincide with the publication of updated flood risk maps by the Environment Agency in December 2013.

2.2             That Committee authorises the Executive Director Environment, Development and Housing to commence local consultation on options for reducing flood risk at the locations identified in the Surface Water Management Plan as being at highest risk of flooding.

48.1         The Committee considered a report of the Executive Director of Environment, Development & Housing that requested approval of the Surface Water Management Plan which would then be used to develop schemes to reduce the risk of flooding in the city. The Plan would also form part of the Local Flood Risk Management Strategy that the authority has a statutory duty to prepare.

48.2         Councillor Theobald stated that the risk of flooding was very high in his ward Patcham. Councillor Theobald noted that the dangers of flooding would only be removed by increasing pipe size or a pipe with an outlet to the sea and that proposals should be drawn up in the chance that funding became available in the future.

48.3         Councillor Mitchell noted the figures from revenue funding allocated to this point and asked which of the seven high risk locations identified were likely to require capital funding. Furthermore, Councillor Mitchell noted that many drains had appeared blocked during recent heavy rain and asked if gully and drain emptying was continuing.

48.4         The Head of Transport clarified there was a national standard of gully and drain clearance that the local authority had to adhere to. He supplemented that the current in-house arrangement required review which would be undertaken in the near future. The Transport Officer replied that use of the accrued revenue budget would be informed by the authorities discussions with the Environment Agency when bidding to draw down capital funding to support the schemes and that Members would be kept regularly updated.

48.5         Councillor Sykes asked if more passive measures of flood prevention were encouraged such as sustainable drainage.

48.6         The Transport Officer confirmed that passive measures were being used such as permeable paving, promotion of sustainable drainage and, from April 2014 planning applications will need to demonstrate how the development will manage surface water run-off to assist flood prevention.

48.7         RESOLVED- .

1)                 That Committee approves the Surface Water Management Plan to coincide with the publication of updated flood risk maps by the Environment Agency in December 2013.

2)                 That Committee authorises the Executive Director Environment, Development and Housing to commence local consultation on options for reducing flood risk at the locations identified in the Surface Water Management Plan as being at highest risk of flooding.