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Agenda item

Member Questions properly submitted in accordance with Council Procedure Rules

To receive any questions submitted under Rule of Procedure 13. Any items received will be circulated on Monday 24 January 2022.

 

(Any questions must be submitted in writing to Democratic Services by, not later than, 10.00am on 17 January 2022).

Minutes:

54.1           The following questions were received from Councillor Bocking to the Lead Member for Built Environment, Councillor Gore.  The answers were given by the Lead Member for Built Environment, Councillor Gore, but were taken as read without discussion.

At Council in June 2021, as a result of a petition, I proposed the following motion which was unanimously passed by this Council

The identification of strategic site allocations will be informed by a Strategic Flood Risk Assessment, prepared as part of the review of the Joint Core Strategy and officers are requested to

a.    ensure that the Strategic Flood Risk Assessment includes a detailed pluvial and fluvial flood risk assessment, to include cumulative impacts, climate change, other influencing factors and all development completed, planned or projected (including major infrastructure projects) since 2014 and that it is commissioned prior to allocating any new sites

b.    consult relevant agencies and Parish Councils to give them an opportunity to present their local evidence for consideration as part of the work carried out in respect of the Flood Risk Assessment referred to in a. above

c.    consider what mechanisms are available to enable flood mitigation requirements to be imposed during the construction phase of development.

Question: 

Can you please let me know how far has this work progressed over the last 7 months?

Answer:

As set out in the report in response to the petition, any new strategic development sites will be allocated as part of the JCS review. The JCS review timetable is currently being developed and will be presented to Members in February/March 2022.

a.      Officers have been working in partnership with the Lead Flood Authority, Gloucestershire County Council, to scope the Strategic Flood Risk Assessment which will be required to inform the review of the Joint Core Strategy.  This work has not yet been concluded and the study envisaged has not yet been commissioned.

b.      When the Council consults on the JCS, Parish Councils will be able to submit local evidence for the Council to consider. 

c.      Officers are working with the Local Lead Flood Authority to determine what mechanisms are available to enable flood mitigation requirements to be imposed during the construction phase of development. This work will be concluded by the time new sites have been allocated.

Question:

Can you provide me with the scope/remit/instructions/terms of reference laid out for the flood risk assessment and projected timescales for its commencement and completion?

Answer:

As set out above, this work has yet to be completed.  Once the Strategic Flood Risk Assessment (SFRA) has been concluded, it will be made available to Members and the public. The SFRA will have to conform with the process for undertaking Strategic Flood Risk Assessments set out in government guidance entitled, ‘How to prepare a strategic flood risk assessment’, updated September 2020.

54.2           The Mayor invited supplementary questions and the Member asked the following which the Lead Member for Built Environment advised would be answered in writing:

                  Question 1:

We know our JCS partner authorities may be reluctant to do more than the bare minimum for flooding as the majority of the strategic sites that provide their housing numbers are in areas of Tewkesbury Borough at risk of flooding, so we passed a motion to offer increased protection. The answers given here show the intention to overturn parts of the unanimously approved full Council motion of 22 June 2021.

My belief was that only full Council could overturn a full Council motion and that it stays in place until then. If this is correct when is our original unanimous full Council motion due back before this Council?

Question 2:

In our Council report from 22 June 2021, it states “the JCS Councils will be required to appoint a suitably qualified specialist in this area of work who will assess all available relevant information before reaching any conclusions in a report”, how do Parish Councils make their information available to the suitably qualified specialist?  

Supporting documents: