Agenda item

To consider the delivery of the Council’s statutory duties in respect of flood risk management.

Ms Clare Nolan-Barnes, Head of Coastal and Environmental Partnership Investments, presented the Flood Risk Management Annual Report 2023. The report outlined the Council’s statutory duties and the work undertaken in relation to Flood Risk Management during 2023. She informed the Committee that the Council had worked with neighbouring local authorities as part of the Lancashire Flood Risk Management Strategy (LFRMS) to reduce risk to the public and ensure communities had resilience in flood incidents. The LFRMS was supported by an Action Plan which had been provided as part of the meeting’s papers.

Members were advised that the main flood risk was the sea which had led to significant investment in coastal defence work planned up until 2027, totalling £150m.

The Committee discussed public engagement in respect of flood works taking place and planned with Ms Nolan-Barnes explaining that following a significant flood incident in Anchorsholme during 2019 the Council had sought to establish Flood Forums. These forums would allow engagement with residents and ensure their involvement in flood risk planning within their communities. Resilience would also be built through the forums, educating residents on what actions to take in a flood incident and who to contact. A Flood Forum had been established in Anchorsholme and it was hoped that further ones would be established across Blackpool.

A further link to the community was the Flood Hubs set up to provide information to schools and residents online. Members highlighted that this could disadvantage those members of the community without access to IT, with Ms Nolan-Barnes reporting that the Council held a list of vulnerable people whom it could contact in an emergency and that it had been used to ensure that they were invited to flood events and for posting out information.

It was noted that the Scrutiny Leadership Board would be undertaking a review of public engagement in scrutiny in 2024 and the Committee therefore asked that engagement with residents in respect of flood risk be referred to the Board for inclusion for consideration in the review.

Members of the Committee noted that a number of actions contained within the LFRMS Action Plan were “in progress” and queried if these were achievable by the year-end 2023/2024. Ms Nolan-Barnes confirmed that it was foreseen that all the outstanding actions would be completed by the end of the financial year, but that in the event any were missed they would be highlighted in the Action Plan for the 2024/2025 year. It was added that Members would be informed once all the actions for 2023/2024 had been completed. Councillor Jane Hugo, Cabinet Member for Climate Change added that the Council had performed well since 2019 against its statutory duties in relation to flood risk management. She noted that some elements of flood risk remained outside of the Council’s control, as flood waters could be generated in neighbouring areas, which highlighted the importance of co-operation with other local authorities in Lancashire.

Ms Nolan-Barnes further reported that a review of the Section 19 notices issued following major flood incidents would be reviewed in 2024 to ensure that they were in-line with those used by other local authorities and make them more accessible to the public. Members therefore asked that the updated document template be shared with the Committee for comment once available.

The Committee agreed:

1.      That the Flood Risk Management Annual Report 2023 be noted;

2.      That Members be informed once all actions within the Lancashire Flood Risk Management Strategy Action Plan had been completed;

3.      That public engagement in respect of flood risk be referred to the Scrutiny Leadership Board for inclusion for consideration as part of the Public Engagement in Scrutiny Working Group; and

4.      That a draft of the updated Section 19 Report template be shared with Members of the Committee for comment.