Local Flood Risk Management Plan 2016 – 2022 Abstract This is the first Local Flood Risk Management Plan for the North East Local Plan District, describing the actions which will contribute to managing the risk of flooding and recovering from any future flood events. The task for local authorities, Scottish Water, the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA), the Scottish Government and all other responsible authorities and public bodies is to deliver this plan. Published by Aberdeenshire Council, June 2016 North East Local Plan District – Local Flood Risk Management Plan Foreword The impacts of flooding experienced by individuals, communities and businesses can be devastating and long lasting. It is vital that we continue to reduce the risk of any such future events and improve the area’s ability to manage and recover from any events which do occur. The publication of this Plan is an important milestone in implementing the Flood Risk Management (Scotland) Act 2009 and improving how we cope with and manage floods in the North East Local Plan District. The Plan translates this legislation into actions over the first planning cycle from 2016 to 2022 to reduce the risk of damage and distress caused by flooding. The North East Local Plan District is led and is published by Aberdeenshire Council on behalf of a partnership comprising three local authorities: Aberdeenshire Council, Aberdeen City Council and The Moray Council together with SEPA and the following Responsible Authorities: Scottish Water; SEPA; Forestry Commission Scotland; and Cairngorms National Park Authority. In summary, there are 23 areas that have been identified as being potentially vulnerable to flood risk across the North East Local Plan District and these have been designated as Potentially Vulnerable Areas (PVAs). The North East Local Plan District contains approximately 13,000 residential and 3,600 non-residential properties at risk with an estimated Annual Average Damages of £29 million. This Plan presents actions to avoid and reduce the risk of flooding and prepare and protect ourselves and our communities within these PVAs and across the Local Plan District (LPD). These actions include three local authority-led flood protection schemes or works; 9 local authority-led flood protection studies; as well as flood warning schemes, 13 Surface Water Management Plans, and a natural flood management study. The delivery of many of these actions may be dependent on the availability of funding. However, we can all play our part in managing flood risk. Individuals are the first line of defence against flooding and have responsibilities to protect themselves from flooding. The publication of this Plan shows that the coordinated and collaborative efforts of public bodies can be brought together to deliver sustainable outcomes. However, the actions in this Plan can only be delivered with the support of all the public bodies, The Scottish Government, and most importantly you and your community. This Plan, therefore, provides the blueprint upon which SEPA, local authorities and Scottish Water and any other responsible authorities will deliver their flood risk management duties under the Flood Risk Management (Scotland) Act 2009. North East Local Plan District – Local Flood Risk Management Plan Acknowledgements With thanks to the following who contributed to the development of this Plan which will help shape the way in which floods and their impacts are managed across the North East Local Plan District: Jonathan Duncan Aberdeenshire Council (LFRMP Project Manager) Gavin Penman Aberdeenshire Council William Murdoch Aberdeenshire Council (Retired) Joanna Cubbage Aberdeenshire Council (Former) Lee Watson Aberdeenshire Council David Gowans The Moray Council Deborah Halliday The Moray Council Alan Robertson Aberdeen City Council Will Burnish Aberdeen City Council Steve McFarland SEPA Iris Krammer SEPA Ben Bickle Scottish Water David Berry, Gavin Miles Cairngorms National Park Authority North East Local Flood Risk Management Plan Steering Group elected members Councillor Bryan Stuart North East LPD Steering Group Chair (Aberdeenshire Council) Councillor Andrew Finlayson LPD Elected Member Representative (Aberdeen City Council) Councillor Stewart Cree LPD Elected Member Representative (The Moray Council) North East Local Plan District – Local Flood Risk Management Plan List of Acronyms and Abbreviations CoSLA Convention of Scottish Local Authorities FRM Flood Risk Management ICS Integrated Catchment Study LA Local Authority LFRMP Local Flood Risk Management Plan LLA Lead Local Authority LPD Local Plan District NFRA National Flood Risk Assessment NFM Natural Flood Management PVA Potentially Vulnerable Area RBMP River Basin Management Plan SAC Special Area of Conservation SSSI Site of Special Scientific Interest SEPA Scottish Environmental Protection Agency SEA Strategic Environmental Assessment SFRA Strategic Flood Risk Assessment SPA Special Protection Area SuDS Sustainable Drainage Systems SWMP Surface Water Management Plan North East Local Plan District – Local Flood Risk Management Plan North East Local Plan District – Local Flood Risk Management Plan North East Local Plan District – Local Flood Risk Management Plan Chapter 1: Flood Risk Management in the North East Local Plan District Reproduced from Flood Risk Management Strategy, SEPA (December 2015) Figure 1: Local Plan Districts 7 North East Local Plan District – Local Flood Risk Management Plan 1.0 What is a Local Flood Risk Management Plan? This Local Flood Risk Management Plan (the ‘Plan’) has been developed to detail the actions adopted to reduce the devastating and costly impact of flooding in the North East Local Plan District. The Plan supplements the North East Flood Risk Management Strategy (the ‘Strategy’), which coordinates the efforts of all organisations that tackle flooding, be it in urban or rural areas and be it from rivers, the sea or from surface water. The Strategy identifies where the risk of flooding and benefits of investment are greatest. The Plan details the prioritised actions that will be delivered with this investment. There are 13 other Strategies and Plans for the other Local Plan Districts in Scotland. Individuals and communities have the information to manage their own responsibilities within the published Plan. Everyone can take action with the confidence of what others are doing and with the clear knowledge when they are doing it. In compliance with the Flood Risk Management (Scotland) Act 2009, these descriptions include: 1. A detailed timetable for the completion of the action currently being implemented, and the implementation of measures yet to be commenced; 2. Who is, or is to be, responsible for implementing the action and the arrangements for funding the action; and 3. A description of the coordination arrangement to implement the actions. It is through this risk-based and plan-led approach that flood management will improve for the individuals, communities and businesses at risk in the North East Local Plan District. The contents of the Plan have been agreed with the lead authority and every other Responsible Authority which has flood risk related functions exercisable in or in relation to the Local Plan District and SEPA. The Plan is published by Aberdeenshire Council, Lead Local Authority for the North East Local Plan District. The Plan has been prepared in collaboration with Aberdeen City Council, The Moray Council, Scottish Water and other organisations with a responsibility or interest in managing flooding. The Plan is a requirement under the Flood Risk Management (Scotland) Act 2009 and fulfils requirements within the European Commission Floods Directive. 8 North East Local Plan District – Local Flood Risk Management Plan 1.1 How to read this Plan The Local Flood Risk Management Plan has three sections: Chapter 1 contains background information on the approach taken in Scotland to manage flooding. It explains the duties and aims of relevant organisations, including how they work together and how flood risk management planning is linked to other government policies and initiatives; and, most importantly, how flood risk management planning is delivered locally to each Local Plan District through a Local Flood Risk Management Plan. Chapter 2 is the most important section for those individuals and communities seeking to understand their flood risk and its management. For areas identified as being at risk of flooding and where the impact of flooding is sufficient to justify further assessment and appraisal (Potentially Vulnerable Areas there is a short description of the causes and consequences of flooding and the agreed objectives for flood risk management are clearly set out. And, most importantly, the actions that will deliver progress against these objectives over the first six-year planning cycle from 2016 and 2022 are described, including when they will be implemented, which organisation is responsible, and how they are to be funded. Chapter 3 contains Annexes to the Plan, providing supporting documents and references and presents more detailed information in various formats. A glossary of terms is included. The Plan should be read alongside the Strategy for the North East Local Plan District which has been developed in parallel and provides additional background information and national context. SEPA published the Strategy in December 2015. Both the Plan and the Strategy will be updated every six years. SEPA’s Flood Risk Management Strategy can be found at: http://apps.sepa.org.uk/FRMStrategies/