Agenda item

A report will be presented which considers progress against the Action Plan of the Kirklees Local Flood Risk Management Strategy.

Contact:

Rashid Mahmood, Flood Manager, Planning and Development

A report was submitted which considered progress against the Action Plan of the Kirklees Local Flood Risk Management Strategy, during the previous twelve-month period.

Rashid Mahmood, Flood Manager, Planning and Development introduced the report and Chris Johnson, Operational Manager, Highways was also in attendance to answer questions. The following points were highlighted:

·       The delivery of works, funded by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Property Flood Resilience Grant, to protect properties and reduce internal flooding was progressing well.

·       The £1.3 million Kirklees Culverts Project was on track for completion by 31^st March 2022 and there may be potential for it to be extended into a second phase.

·       A successful bid had been made for funding for a review of high-risk debris screen assets and this would commence in the new financial year.

·       New software had been purchased to improve the Authority’s local flood warning system by providing early intelligence of problems in the district.

·       Springboard funding had been achieved for an innovation programme at regional level to increase resilience.

·       The Community Flood Risk Education Programme had been completed.

·       Work was progressing in respect of the development of a new Flood Risk Management Strategy, which would include a focus on nature-based solutions, community resilience, and how to manage the impact of climate change.

·       The impact of, and response to, the recent storm events.

Questions and comments were invited from Committee Members, with the following issues being covered:

·       In terms of adapting to worsening conditions, the Authority was keen to pursue nature-based solutions and work was ongoing with local groups together with the National Trust, Yorkshire Water and the Peak District National Park to address leaks and slow the flow. There was a need to scale up this work and a bid had been made to allow further mapping to be undertaken. In addition, climate science continued to develop, the Government had issued new climate change allowances that would be taken into consideration when assessing planning applications and projects, and new national models were being looked at.

·       Had consideration been given to the use of more community-based approaches such as flood sacks, which were filled with water, so that people did not have to wait for a response to be able to take action.

·       Since the report to the Committee in 2021, sandbags had been deployed in advance to ten areas that had been identified as being at risk. Approximately 150 gullies, that were known to have caused flooding to properties, had been added to the Pre-Flood Operational Plan and the highest risk gullies had been targeted prior to the recent storm events.

·       In respect of a specific incidence in Albert Street, Huddersfield, it was explained that this had been an unusual occurrence and illustrated the challenges faced in trying to predict flooding.

·       The list of gullies did evolve and the data was reviewed but if the list became too large it would not be possible to get to all of them in the limited time available.

·       It was suggested that circumstances could be altered in an area as a result of development and checks should therefore be undertaken post-completion, in case the nature of the drainage had changed.

·       The Council worked closely with the Canals and Riverside Trust (CART).

·       The response during the recent storm events had been good; it was considered that the teams had been well prepared and there had been good communication with residents.

·       It was suggested that if officers experienced problems with access when clearing gullies, for example due to parked cars, that contact be made with the Ward Councillors who may be able to assist.

·       In respect of engagement with smaller landowners on the implementation of natural flood management, and capacity to develop business cases, it was explained that a member of the team had taken on a role as natural flood management co-ordinator and was developing a partnership approach with various partners including the Aire and Calder Trust. Business cases were being developed and submitted and the necessary skills were being developed in-house; it was recognised that this was a key area of work to generate investment into the district.

·       Four thousand priority gullies had been cleared to prepare for the winter season, with approximately 150 done in preparation for the recent storm events. In respect of more regular checks of gullies; there were eighty thousand gullies on the network and the level of available resources had necessitated a move to a risk-based approach to clearance in 2018. This approach was based on the gritting routes and encompassed thirty-five thousand gullies which were cleared once per annum, with the remainder done on a reactive basis with notification being provided by members of the public.

Resolved –

That officers be thanked for the annual progress report and that consideration be given to the following recommendations:

-       Ward Councillors be contacted if problems are experienced with access when undertaking gully clearing, with parked vehicles for example, to see if they can provide assistance.

-       The checking of high-risk gullies on a more regular basis.

-       An assessment of the area in the vicinity of a development site post-completion, to ascertain if there have been changes to the drainage that would impact on flood risk.