To consider progress against the Flood Risk Management Group Action Plan.  

71.1           The report of the Environmental and Housing Services Group Manager, circulated at Pages No. 47-57, provided an update on the progress of the Flood Risk Management Group Action Plan.  Members were asked to consider the progress which had been made.

71.2           Members were advised that the Flood Risk Management Group Action Plan, attached at Appendix 1 to the report, was monitored by the Overview and Scrutiny Committee on a quarterly basis and this update was based on the Flood Risk Management Group meeting held on 14 December 2015.  It was noted that the Action Plan now included a table detailing potential future maintenance issues outside of the general maintenance on Council-owned watercourses i.e. collapsing banks, substantial erosion etc.  The Environmental Health Manager made particular reference to the fantastic work which had been done at Tirley where a suite of flood protection measures were being implemented in partnership with the Parish Council.  With regard to Tewkesbury, he indicated that work had been carried out with Tewkesbury Nature Reserve and people had commented that this had had an impact on areas which normally accepted water during the recent seasonal flooding.  It was hoped to undertake joint work with Gloucestershire County Council and the Environment Agency, once the water had subsided, to ensure watercourses around Tewkesbury Town were cleared and water could move quickly.  More detailed information regarding watercourse maintenance was set out within the report.

71.3           A Member queried whether the Flood Risk Management Group was able to ensure that houses were not built below the road level and the Environmental Health Manager clarified that the Action Plan looked at specific actions relating to watercourses which were being carried out jointly with other agencies, or by Tewkesbury Borough Council itself, however, this was an issue which had been discussed.  A Member of the Flood Risk Management Group advised that the Group had been particularly concerned about the amount of watercourses which the Council would have to maintain with the new development which was expected as a result of the Joint Core Strategy.  In response, the Environmental Health Manager advised that the Council did own many pieces of land which it had a responsibility to maintain and the Council had agreed to increase the budget for watercourse maintenance some three to four years earlier in order to ensure that the statutory responsibility as a riparian owner was fulfilled.  In the future there would be issues with ensuring that the Council received appropriate payment for the maintenance of any watercourses it would be expected to maintain via the planning process, however, it was noted that developers were increasingly looking towards Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS) which were based on the idea of replicating natural drainage and working with the land.  A Member indicated that another flooding issue relating to planning was the use of permeable paving, which only had a 15 year lifespan, and he questioned whether the local authority would become responsible for its replacement.  The Environmental Health Manager confirmed that this had previously been discussed at a meeting of the Flood Risk Management Group and consideration was being given to inviting Planning Officers to a future meeting of the Group in order to give explanations on such matters.  The Deputy Chief Executive explained that more was now being done by Gloucestershire County Council, in its role as Lead Local Flood Authority, to ensure that detailed responses were provided in relation to planning applications.  Members were advised that other agencies were invited to attend Flood Risk Management Group meetings as this presented a good opportunity for Members to ask questions about their roles, for instance, the last meeting had been attended by Gloucestershire County Council.  A Member commented that the Supplementary Planning Document around flood risk had been introduced less than two years ago and he would like to see it referenced in planning documents.  The Environmental Health Manager agreed and indicated that the document needed to be revisited on a regular basis and the correct forum for such discussions would be the Flood Risk Management Group. 

71.4           Having considered the information provided, it was

RESOLVED          That the progress against the Flood Risk Management Group Action Plan be NOTED.