Ribble Catchment Flood Management Plan Summary Report December 2009 managing flood risk We are the Environment Agency. It’s our job to look after your environment and make it a better place – for you, and for future generations. Your environment is the air you breathe, the water you drink and the ground you walk on. Working with business, Government and society as a whole, we are making your environment cleaner and healthier. The Environment Agency. Out there, making your environment a better place. Published by: Environment Agency Richard Fairclough House Knutsford Road Warrington WA4 1HT Tel: 0870 8506506 Email: [email protected] www.environment-agency.gov.uk © Environment Agency All rights reserved. This document may be reproduced with prior permission of the Environment Agency. December 2009 Introduction I am pleased to introduce our summary of the Ribble Catchment Flood Management Plan (CFMP). This CFMP gives an overview of the flood risk in the Ribble catchment and sets out our preferred plan for sustainable flood risk management over the next 50 to 100 years. The Ribble CFMP is one of 77 CFMPs for England and parts of Preston are also at risk of tidal flooding. and Wales. Through the CFMPs, we have assessed We estimate 6400 properties in the catchment have inland flood risk across all of England and Wales for a 1% annual probability of flooding from rivers or a the first time. The CFMP considers all types of inland 0.5% annual probability of flooding from the tide. We flooding, from rivers, groundwater, surface water estimate that by 2100 approximately 12,400 properties and tidal flooding, but not flooding directly from the will be at risk of flooding (fluvial and tidal). This is sea (coastal flooding), which is covered by Shoreline a 94% increase compared to the current number of Management Plans (SMPs). Our coverage of surface properties at fluvial flood risk across the catchment. and groundwater is however limited due to a lack of We cannot reduce flood risk on our own, we will available information. therefore work closely with all our partners to improve The role of CFMPs is to establish flood risk management the co-ordination of flood risk activities and agree policies which will deliver sustainable flood risk the most effective way to management flood risk in management for the long term. This is essential if we the future. To develop this plan and ensure social, are to make the right investment decisions for the economic and environmental issues were taken future and to help prepare ourselves effectively for into account we worked with, and consulted many the impact of climate change. We will use CFMPs to organisations. These include local authorities, help us target our limited resources where the risks Lancashire and North Yorkshire County Councils, Defra, are greatest. United Utilities, Natural England and English Heritage. This CFMP identifies flood risk management policies to This is a summary of the main CFMP document, if you assist all key decision makers in the catchment. It was need to see the full document an electronic version produced through a wide consultation and appraisal can be obtained by emailing enquiries@environment- process, however it is only the first step towards an agency.gov.uk or alternatively paper copies can be integrated approach to Flood Risk Management. As we viewed at any of our offices in North West Region. all work together to achieve our objectives, we must monitor and listen to each others progress, discuss what has been achieved and consider where we may need to review parts of the CFMP. In the Ribble catchment the main sources of flood risk are from rivers, surface water flooding, and sewer flooding from the drainage system. The lower reaches Tony Dean of the catchment at locations such as Lytham St Annes Regional Director Environment Agency Ribble Catchment Flood Management Plan 1 Contents The purpose of a CFMP in managing flood risk 3 Catchment overview 4 Current and future flood risk 6 Future direction for flood risk management 10 Sub-areas 1 Upper Ribble & Hodder sub-area 12 2 Rural Ribble sub-area 14 3 Settle sub-area 16 4 Clitheroe sub-area 18 5 Rural Calder and Darwen sub-area 20 6 Calder Urban Areas sub-area 22 7 Accrington & Oswaldtwistle sub-area 24 8 Lower Ribble and Fylde Streams sub-area 26 9 Preston & Walton-le-Dale sub-area 28 10 Blackpool & Lytham St Annes sub-area 30 Map of CFMP policies 32 2 Environment Agency Ribble Catchment Flood Management Plan The purpose of a CFMP in managing flood risk CFMPs help us to understand the • Internal Drainage Board, water CFMPs aim to promote more scale and extent of flooding now companies and other utilities to sustainable approaches to managing and in the future, and set policies help plan their activities in the flood risk. The policies identified in for managing flood risk within the wider context of the catchment. the CFMP will be delivered through a catchment. CFMPs should be used combination of different approaches. • Transportation planners. to inform planning and decision Together with our partners, we making by key stakeholders such as: • Landowners, farmers and will implement these approaches land managers who manage through a range of delivery plans, • The Environment Agency, who will and operate land for projects and actions. use the plan to guide decisions agriculture, conservation on investment in further plans, The relationship between the CFMP, and amenity purposes. projects or actions. delivery plans, strategies, projects • The public and businesses to and actions is shown in figure 1. • Regional planning bodies and enhance their understanding local authorities who can use of flood risk and how it will the plan to inform spatial be managed. planning activities and emergency planning. Figure 1 The relationship between CFMPs, delivery plans, projects and actions Policy planning • CFMPs and Shoreline Management Plans. • Action plans define requirement for delivery plans, projects and actions. Policy delivery plans (see note) Projects and actions • Influence spatial planning to reduce risk • Make sure our spending delivers the best and restore floodplains. possible outcomes. • Prepare for and manage floods • Focus on risk based targets, for example (including local Flood Warning plans). numbers of households at risk. • Managing assets. • Water level management plans. • Land management and habitat creation. Note: Some plans may not be led by us – we may • Surface water management plans. identify the need and encourage their development. Environment Agency Ribble Catchment Flood Management Plan 3 Catchment overview The Ribble CFMP area is made The key urban areas within the locations is focused around up of the catchments of the catchment lie in the industrialised sustainable re-development, flood River Ribble, along with its major areas of East Lancashire adjacent to warning, resilience, making space tributaries which include the the River Calder and Darwen, such for water either locally or upstream, Hodder, Calder, and Darwen, as Burnley, Nelson and Blackburn; and the improvement or installation together with the streams draining and also in the lower reaches of of flood defences where they the Fylde Peninsula. The catchment the River Ribble at Preston and are economically justifiable and contains extensive areas of rural Walton-le-Dale. There are also environmentally acceptable. land containing numerous villages, numerous dispersed villages in the The CFMP area is important for together with some major urban upper catchment, with some larger nature conservation. A number areas including Burnley, Blackburn, towns such as Settle, Clitheroe and of nationally and internationally Preston, and South Blackpool. Ribchester located in the middle protected sites are within the There are also areas of high quality to upper catchment. The industrial CFMP area. These range from the agricultural land, particularly in the legacy of the Ribble catchment is Bowland Fell Special Protection west of the CFMP area, where there evident in areas of East Lancashire Area (SPA) and Long Preston Site is a history of agricultural drainage. where industrial buildings such as of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) mills and factories were built over Whilst the majority of the lower in the upper catchment, to the rivers, creating numerous culverted catchment is flat low-lying river Ribble Estuary SPA where the Ribble watercourses. floodplain, elevated areas are enters the Irish Sea. Depending present in the West Pennine Moors Approximately 6,400 properties on the location and nature of the near to the urban settlements of across the catchment have a 1% designation, flooding can have a East Lancashire, as well as in the chance of flooding from rivers or mixture of effects, although within Bowland Fell area. This leads to a 0.5% chance of flooding from the Ribble catchment these effects faster responses to rainfall in those the tide in any one year. Around are expected to be beneficial. parts, whereas the lower lying areas 70% of these properties are in the tend to have a slower and more urban areas of East Lancashire gradual response time to rainfall. and Preston. Our approach to management in these high risk River Calder at Burnley 4 Environment Agency Ribble Catchment Flood Management Plan Map 1 Location Of The Ribble CFMP Area Environment Agency Ribble Catchment Flood Management Plan 5 Current and future flood risk Overview of the current flood risk Flood risk has two components: le-Dale from the Ribble. The Shoreline Management Plan the chance (probability) of a urban areas of East Lancashire (SMP) expected in 2010. particular flood and the impact (or are mainly affected by the Calder • Surface water flooding is caused consequence) that the flood would and Darwen. There is useful by water collecting or flowing have if it happened. The probability attenuation capacity on the over the surface before soaking of a flood relates to the likelihood of Ribble due to floodplain near into the ground or entering a flood of that size occurring within Long Preston and further down a watercourse.