Agenda item

To provide a basis for the Committee to consider the delivery of the Council’s statutory duties in respect of flood risk management.

Mrs Clare Nolan-Barnes, Head of Coastal and Environmental Partnership Investments presented the annual report on Flood Risk Management received by the Tourism, Economy and Resources Scrutiny Committee to Members and highlighted that, in addition, the draft report on the investigation undertaken into the flooding event in Blackpool in November 2017 had been included.

She advised that the Council had a number of statutory duties in respect of flood risk management including a duty to investigate flooding incidents to the extent that it considers appropriate and necessary.

The Committee was informed that the Flood Risk Management Strategy was being refreshed and ongoing action was being taken to learn from flooding events. The outcomes would be used to inform the strategy. Mrs Barnes advised that it was also important to consider resilience to flooding and measures that could be put in place to increase the resilience of residents.

The Chairman opened the meeting to questions and Mr Paul Bond, Flood Resilience Adviser, Environment Agency, Mr Rob Tiswell, Fylde Coast Waste Water Asset Manager, United Utilities, Mr Steve Wong, Area Stakeholder Manager, Unities Utilities, Mr Steven Kenyan, Network Manager, United Utilities and Ms Rachel Crompton, Flood Risk Manager, Lancashire County Council were invited to respond.

The Committee questioned the detail relating to the flooding event on 22 November 2017 and a number of key points were noted:

·         The sewer system, pipes and gullies had already been full prior to the event due to previous heavy rainfall and had remained full for five days following the flood.

·         Data recorded suggested that the level of rain had been the highest in 15 years.

·         The Anchorsholme pumping station had been in use. Prior to the flooding the pumping station had not been receiving enough water to utilise all five pumps. On the evening of the flood, there had been a time when all five pumps were required, however, the fifth pump had not worked. Engineers had been on site to repair it and to ensure the remaining four pumps continued to work.

·         The new pumping station at Anchorsholme had not been completed. When finished, it would provide a small increase in capacity. More importantly it would provide greater inlet pipes and outflow pumps. However, the reason for the new pump had been related to bathing water quality and not flood risk.

·         The Manchester Square, Anchorsholme and Fleetwood pumping stations had been all pumping out to sea. To discharge water to sea required consent from the Environment Agency due to the impact on bathing waters.

·         The additional pumping station in Skippool had been turned off to prevent further flooding of Warren Drive.

Members highlighted that the flooding on the evening of 22 November 2017 was not the first flooding incident in the area and raised concerns that previous flooding incidents had not been learned from and no improvements had been made. Further concern was raised that future housing developments had been proposed on green spaces that had been flooded and the Committee queried why United Utilities had not provided an objection to the proposals. In response, Mr Wong advised that United Utilities was not a statutory consultee, but was working with the Head of Development Management to improve knowledge and links.

Mr Kenyan advised that United Utilities had visited the sites that had been flooded and undertaken measures to drain water more quickly. He added that work was being undertaken with local councils in order to understand the full extent of the flood and that it was important to ensure appropriate maintenance was carried out. The importance of aligning flood strategies was highlighted.

Members queried why the telemetric data required had not yet been provided by United Utilities and Mr Tiswell advised that he had not received a formal request for the data and would provide the information to Mrs Barnes within two weeks of the formal request being made. He advised that Unities Utilities had not had reviewed the draft Section 19 report.

The Committee asked a number of further questions and was advised that if the fifth pump had been working it might have prevented flooding in some areas, however, there were multiple causes of flooding and the high levels of surface water had a significant impact. Mr Tiswell advised that the Anchorsholme pumping station was two kilometres away from some roads that had been flooded and that the sewer systems in the area had been full. He added that there were also a number of unknown watercourses in the flooded areas.

Ms Crompton reported that flooding had also been experienced in Lancashire on 22 November 2017. She advised that there had been no Met Office warning of rain and therefore advance preparation had been limited. She added that flood insurance could be obtained by residents who had experienced flooding and that Mrs Barnes had provided a very comprehensive Section 19 report. It was considered that flooding incidents were becoming more frequent and additional resilience was required.

In response to a question, Mrs Barnes advised that there had been no reports of any health problems related to the flood event and that any claims should be directed towards United Utilities. Mr Wong added that United Utilities had provided financial assistance and help with property clean up. Loss adjusters were available immediately after the event and payments to residents were given without investigation.

Members noted that it had previously been suggested by United Utilities that blocked gullies had been to blame for the flooding and highlighted that Blackpool Council had a thorough cleaning policy and therefore the Committee considered that that was not the case. In response, Mr Wong advised that a standard response had been provided to the flooding incident that covered an area greater than Blackpool.

A number of concerns were also raised relating to provision of information solely online and that no sandbag policy was in place. The Committee was advised that the issue of sandbags was being considered as a pressing concern. Mr Wong added that United Utilities had ensured their phone number had been widely available and also had a list of vulnerable people or those with additional needs to ensure help could be tailored where required.

The Chairman invited a member of the public to address the Committee on his experience of the flood event. Mr Colin Wolfendale addressed the Committee on behalf of the residents in attendance. He highlighted his experience of the flood and the contact he and his family had had with United Utilities. He raised a number of key concerns including the attitude of some employees and that no real answers had been provided as to why the flooding had occurred. He added that the response provided by Blackpool Council had been excellent. Mr Wolfendale was requested to document the concerns raised in a written report, which would be considered at the next meeting of the Committee alongside a response from Mrs Barnes to the concerns raised.

The Committee summarised the concerns raised during the meeting and highlighted that the report did not adequately explain the reasons why the storm water tanks had been left full for five days when heavy rain had been predicted in advance. Members also questioned the claim that flooding had not occurred in the area for 15 years, when more recent events could be identified. Furthermore the Committee raised concerns that permission was required from the Environment Agency to release the waters from the tanks and queried why this had not happened when the weather warning had been given and if the decision had been based on financial considerations.

The Committee further concluded by raising concerns that at the time of the flooding only three pumps had been working and additionally queried an announcement made that work had been completed on the pumping station when all pumps were not working.

The Committee agreed to receive a report containing the concerns raised by residents and a response to the concerns provided by Mrs Barnes, liaising with partner agencies.