Agenda item

To consider annual progress against the action plan of the Kirklees Local Flood Risk Management Strategy (the Strategy), approved by Cabinet on 15 January 2013 and updated in November 2016 and February 2019).

Contact:

Rashid Mahmood, Flood Manager, Planning and Development, Tel: 01484 221000

The Committee received a report which outlined annual progress against the action plan of the Kirklees Local Flood Risk Management Strategy (the Strategy), approved by Cabinet on 15 January 2013 and updated in November 2016 and February 2019.

Rashid Mahmood, Flood Manager, Planning and Development and Mathias Franklin (Head of Planning and Development) were in attendance for the item. 

The key areas of the Committee’s discussion and responses to questions are summarised below:

-      A Committee Member referred to the important role of drainage clearance in minimising the risk of flood and local community solutions such as flood walls.  Whilst the Committee were advised that that sandbags would not have been effective against the type of flooding recently experienced, a request was made for a distributed supply of sandbags at a community level.

-      It was acknowledged that community engagement was crucial and it was important to educate residents about risk and how they could best manage that in order to make communities more resilient.  It was hoped to develop a flood warden initiative which would also assist in flood warning intelligence across the district. 

The Committee highlighted the need for effective communications and referred to the recent instances where residents had struggled to get through to the Council via the telephone.

-      The telemetry referred to was a form of technology which provided a remove picture as to whether a gulley had silted up.  This would indicate which gulleys required a higher frequency of maintenance and the Direct Operations Team could be allocated accordingly. It was hoped to extend this in order to collect further knowledge and maximise efficiency maintenance.

-      There had been a number of studies within the Kirklees district and a consultant’s study in relation to surface water flood risk within the entire Kirklees district was expected in April 2020. 

-      In response to concerns raised as to the information provided to Planning Committees by the Environment Agency in order to assess the impact of housing in a particular area, it was noted that the Environment Agency provided the strategic flood risk maps which identified the highest levels of risk.  This was a crucial piece of data in informing where land was allocated for housing and employment. 

It was agreed that technical issues in relation to assessing planning applications and flood risk would be picked up with Planning Committees in their annual and refresher training.

-      In terms of main river, which was the responsibility of the Environment Agency, the lead local flood authority would advise on  planning applications.  The general principal was that development should not add to flood risk on site, add to flood risk elsewhere and should wherever possible and practical reduce flood risk.  The Committee were advised that most fields were unmanaged and an uncontrolled environment and development could introduce a managed storage system for water.  New design could improve drainage from an unmanaged field, being mindful of the challenge to get the water from the site to an appropriate water course.

-      The vast majority of new housing was going on sites that both the lead local flood authority, the water agency and the Environment Agency had assessed as the most suitable locations for development across the borough. 

-      It was acknowledged that there would be an element of disruption during the construction phase, but there were planning conditions and requirements on developers to limit impact.  Temporary drainage arrangements should be in place and these should be living documents which could be altered in reaction to extreme events.

-      The Planning Service went out to manage major sites and were working closely with colleagues across the technical parts of the Council.  Where developers were causing real issue, work would take place with them and action would be taken to bring back into compliance where required.

-      In response to a question as to how the telemetry was being used to solve issues, it was noted that this technology was a new Council initiative.  Data was being received and it was expected that 12 months of input would be required to fully appreciate the information.  It was hoped that the data would inform which gulleys needed more attention.

-      The Council worked constantly with the Environment Agency.  Further to the recent storm events in February, a database was collected which looked at every property that had been internally flooded and the causes, which could change the view of areas of flooding within Kirklees.  Moving forward, this would be captured into wards so that advice could be provided to elected members.

-      The Committee were advised that planning sites had been through a sustainability assessment.  The majority of the sites in the Local Plan were in areas of lowest flood risk.  However, this did not mean that there weren’t some sites where there were elements of flood zones 2 and 3.  The Planning Service would always steer new development away from any flood zone 3 area, as this was the highest risk.  If a site was an allocated site for housing, then that was an appropriate location for housing in principle, subject to the other material considerations being right. 

-      The Local Plan was up to date and the Council was in good place to ensure that development was on sites identified as suitable for housing.  The Committee were advised that this did not mean that all housing would go on allocations, as there was a windfall element of requirement of circa 400 per year of the 1700 target, but the principles of the Local Plan would be applied.

-      Flood risk assessments were required with detailed planning applications and a Plan led approach to housing in Kirklees was being promoted.  As previously noted, there was close working with the Environment Agency, who had been data gathering following recent storm events.  Modelling was consistently reviewed to ensure that it was fit for purpose and measured against what had actually happened and strategic flood risk maps were periodically reviewed in light of new data.

Councillor Bolt was in attendance as an observer and asked a number of questions, the responses to which are summarised below:-

-      The results of a study of surface water risk for Kirklees was expected shortly.

-      It was often the case that if a property was not internally flooded then it would not meet the required eligibility criteria for funding, which was a constant challenge.  It was believed that central government were looking at the criteria, so that businesses could benefit from funding relating to flood incidents. 

-      Engagement would continue with those communities affected by incidents.

-      With regards to developers’ responsibility, it was noted that where developers were applying for planning permission, it was expected that they would provide the right level of information.  Planning Service officers would apply their professional judgement, provide challenge and scrutiny and bring forward to elected Members, with a recommendation and explanation as to how that had been arrived at.  The Committee were advised that officers did challenge back and improved schemes as they came through.

-      With regards to developers’ responsibilities, it was acknowledged that some developers could be more collaborative, but equally the Council was in a Plan led situation and it was reiterated that some development could improve drainage of unregulated sites. 

-      In terms of the site referred to by Cllr Bolt, it was acknowledged that this was a challenging site and there was a known element of flood risk at the access points.  It was noted that the majority of the site, where the housing was to be located, could be designed to be out of flood zones. 

-      It was acknowledged that some parts of the Borough had challenging typography and water networks and this had to be responded to with clever and innovative design, as there was still a requirement to provide good quality housing and jobs. 

-      In conclusion, the Committee were advised that the Planning Service was keen to ensure developers built in accordance with their planning permission and where they didn’t, action would be taken to regularise that.

Resolved:–

The Committee recommended that:-

1.    Areas be designated for the provision of sandbags in areas of high flood risk, so that they could be accessed quickly when required;

2.    The flood wardens scheme be put in place as quickly as possible;

3.    Councillors be kept informed of surface water reduction measures and engaged as to the typography of areas within their wards;

4.    It was important to work and engage with communities across Kirklees who were at most risk and there should be better communication in relation to resilience in an emergency;

5.    Planning enforcement should be applied where there was a known flood risk to ensure that risk was mitigated;

6.    The Action Plan should include more information in relation to risk mitigation and appraisal of such measures in areas of high flood risk.