Agenda item

LIST OF BACKGROUND PAPERS AS REQUIRED BY LAW

(Papers relied on to write the report, which do not contain exempt information and which are not published elsewhere)

Contact Officer, telephone number and email: Emily Capps, 01263 516274 emily.capps@north-norfolk.gov.uk

Resolved

To ratify the Norfolk Strategic Flooding Alliance Strategy and Action Plan.

Reason for the decision:

To support a collaborate approach to flooding and water management in Norfolk. To ensure that there continues to be a planned and resilient approach to flooding across the County.

Cllr N Lloyd, Portfolio Holder for Environment, introduced this item. He said that it was important the Council signed up to the principles of the proposed strategy as the need for partnership working was recognised. He said that he had not been overly impressed with progress so far but it was early days and any challenges could only be addressed by working collaboratively.

Cllr A Fitch-Tillett said that she was relieved to see that the Alliance had been formed. It had been a huge disappointment when the County Council’s flood forum had been disbanded. Karen Thomas, Head of Coastal Partnership East (CPE) attended meetings of the new strategic alliance, so it covered the coast too.

Cllr V Holliday echoed Cllr Fitch-Tillett’s comments. She said that there was very little mention of coastal flooding. The main focus was on inland flooding and coastal flooding should be represented more strongly. The Leader replied that there was a strong coastal network in place and the Council would keep pushing for support in this area.

Cllr N Dixon said that he endorsed Cllr Fitch-Tillett’s comments, however, it was important to note that it was fluvial and pluvial flooding that led to the strategic alliance being formed, not coastal flooding. He said that he had some concerns about resources to deliver the strategy and he was cautious about the willingness to sign up to partnership working and sign up to a common agenda. The real challenge would come in integrating this into the various services areas across the Council – such as Planning and Environmental Health. He said that he would want to see evidence on how the ambitions of the strategy would be delivered in the Council’s planning policies and environmental aims and policies. He added that from his previous involvement in flooding matters, it was clear that there was an issue in the way responsibilities were shared and allocated – between the Environment Agency and landowners. There was a general lack of awareness which was a reflection of decades of neglect and misunderstanding as well as climate variations. The real issue was about how the Council as an organisation embraced this opportunity and demonstrated its commitment via ensuring deliverability through the main affected service areas of the Council.

Cllr E Withington said that she was very supportive of the proposals but that she did have a number of concerns. She referenced recent pluvial flooding in Sheringham and said that the Council’s planning team had been very responsive and come out and reviewed the situation along with Anglian Water. She queried what would happen when action was needed and who would fund it. There was still a long way to go.

Cllr R Kershaw agreed with Cllr Dixon’s comments. He said that the Environment Agency lacked ‘teeth’ and resources to work effectively with farmers and landowners. He referred to Water Resources East and said that NNDC had joined to work longer term to address these problems.

Cllr Lloyd said that the comments so far echoed his own feelings. The Council would be one of many bodies on the Alliance and it would try to influence outcomes.

Cllr J Toye said he agreed that the Council’s planning team had a big part to play, adding that there was a policy in place to deal with flood risk.

Cllr E Seward welcomed the proposals, saying that it was important to have a framework in place for dealing with flooding as it was an issue that was the responsibility of a wide range of bodies. He gave an example of how a recent flooding event in North Walsham had been dealt with and said that it was not clear to residents who was responsible for the cleaning of gullies and drains and how to report problems with these. Cllr Dixon agreed, adding that many residential estates had a lot of paved drives but the residents complained when the roads flooded. There was a lack of awareness and responsibility for these issues. He said that for a group such as the Norfolk Strategic Flooding Alliance to work, it needed all of the participating members to shoulder their responsibilities. He added that a lot rested on property owners and land owners and they may need to pay towards it. It could be a painful process and the Council should be mindful of this.

Cllr W Fredericks pointed out that there was no phone number for emergency flooding on the County Council’s website.

It was proposed by Cllr N Lloyd, seconded by Cllr A Fitch-Tillett and

Resolved

To ratify the Norfolk Strategic Flooding Alliance Strategy and Action Plan.

Reason for the decision:

To support a collaborate approach to flooding and water management in Norfolk. To ensure that there continues to be a planned and resilient approach to flooding across the County.