Agenda and minutes

There were no declarations of interest received.

Purpose: To undertake a review into the effects of severe weather that affected West Berkshire during the winter of 2013/2014 and the response provided by the Council.

Councillor Brain Bedwell thanked Members for attending the meeting and encouraged any Members present during the course of the review to participate in the meeting on 15^th September 2014 in order to incorporate the collective views of the Commission.

David Lowe introduced the item to the Commission and highlighted the meeting format which had been outlined in the cover report, the order and timing allocated for speakers had been amended in order to accommodate Members’ commitments to existing meetings.

Appendix A, Winter Floods and Storms 2013/2014, was presented to the Commission as a draft report. The Commission was advised that the scrutiny review would contribute towards the final draft and formation of recommendations which would subsequently be issued to the Executive for consideration.

Councillor Jeff Brooks asked when the timetable of meetings had been agreed, he could not recall being consulted. David Lowe advised that the scoping document was presented at the meeting on 1 July 2014 and subsequently agreed.

In response to questions asked, Andy Day advised that if a recommendation had national implications then the Executive would be asked to submit the details of the recommendation to Central Government in writing. It was agreed that national recognition would encourage agencies’ accountability.

Civil Contingencies

Carolyn Richardson was invited to summarise the effects and response to recent severe weather by providing a presentation which outlined the following;

·         Emergency planning legislation

·         Roles and responsibilities & preplanning

·         What happened during recent severe weather

·         The impact in West Berkshire

·         The response provided

·         The recovery process

·         The lessons learnt so far.

Carolyn Richardson proceeded to explain that the Flood and Water Management Act 2010 defined the Lead Local Flood Authority (LLFA) and its responsibilities and powers. Carolyn Richardson advised that West Berkshire Council was defined as the LLFA and the core function sat within the Highways and Transport Service. The LLFA was responsible for the development, maintenance, applicatio and monitoring of the Local Flood Risk Management Strategy (LFRMS) and was required to consult the public and local risk management authorities on its LFRMS.

It was the responsibility of the LLFA to establish and maintain a register of structures or features which, in the opinion of the authority, were likely to have a significant effect on a flood risk in its area and set up a committee to oversee the flood risk management functions of the local authority’s area.

The FWMA imposed duties on LLFAs to Investigate flooding incidents, (referred to as Section 19) and co-operate with other Risk Management Authorities (RMA).

The LLFAs had the powers to:

·         Consent works on ordinary watercourses (watercourses not overseen by the Environment Agency)

·         Designate 3rd party assets that affected flood risk and give notice to owners that the assets had been adopted

·         Request information from Risk Management Authorities

·         Carry out works relating to groundwater and surface water flooding

·         Approve / reject Sustainable Drainage Systems (SUDS).

Carolyn Richardson provided Members with a slide to illustrate the roles and responsibilities of agencies and the general public (specifically riparian owners) as  ...  view the full minutes text for item 32.