Agenda and minutes

There were no apologies for absence made.

None.

There were no declarations of interest made.

(A period not exceeding 20 minutes for statements from up to 5 members of the public on matters within the Panel’s remit, proposing action(s) which may be considered or contribute towards the future development of the Panel’s work programme).

There were no public statements made.

The minutes of the Community and Environment Overview and Scrutiny Panel held on the 23^rd January 2023 were approved as a true record.

A report was provided to the Panel with details of the outcomes of the review and consultation undertaken on the Local Flood Risk Management Strategy (2023 – 2029).  The Panel was also provided with an opportunity to consider and comment on the draft strategy.  It was explained that the new strategy was more in keeping with the National Flood Risk Management Strategy and had been built on improved information and also accounted for emerging legislation.

A discussion took place that included the following areas.

Public Consultation – An outline was provided of the consultation exercise and Members were reassured that robust public consultation had been undertaken, despite there being a small number of responses being made from the public.  Members heard how a two-tier approach had been undertaken, the first part which involved partnership organisations (consulted with to make sure that the document was as accurate as could be) and then the second part (which was the public consultation stage), was live for 4 weeks over July and August 2023.  It was outlined that the public consultation had been communicated through being;

·    advertised in the borough wide newsletter; and

·    uploaded to the Council consultations page, and flood risk management landing page; and

·    raised through word of mouth with customers, developers and members of the public to increase awareness.

It was clarified that public consultation had also included engagement with groups from areas such as Fishlake that had been greatly impacted by floods before.  Members heard that the draft strategy had been shared with them and comments invited on the proposals made. 

Flood Wardens – Members heard that it was the Emergency Planning Team which promoted and led on the recruitment of Flood Wardens.  It was acknowledged that engagement in encouraging Flood Wardens (to register onto the Council’s volunteering scheme) had lessened in recent times or because the individual had moved away.  It was explained that efforts were being made to drive more recruitment for Flood Wardens.  Members heard that the Emergency Planning team had started an initiative with the Environment Agency about 2 years ago to be recruiting Flood Wardens again, which had been slow to progress due to other competing service pressures.

It was noted that there were currently around 50 Wardens, with the majority being within the Fishlake Community.  Members welcomed the recognition that further work needed to be undertaken by promoting this issue in certain areas.  It was suggested that Community Groups might provide a potential source when undertaking this work. 

It was acknowledged that the training of Flood Wardens was an important issue as well as being able to give them more confidence.  It was noted that there was an issue around managing people’s behaviour as sometimes when floods occur then situations could be dangerous for residents who have not been trained. 

A Member spoke about their own experiences and challenges faced when they had previously offered to volunteer during a flood, it was offered to discuss this further outside of the meeting.

Surface Water  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

The Senior Governance Officer presented the Scrutiny Work Plan that had recently been agreed by the Overview and Scrutiny Management Committee and the Council’s Forward Plan of Key Decisions.

RESOLVED: That

·       the update be noted.

CHAIR:                                                                         DATE: