Draft Surrey Local Flood Risk Management Strategy 2012 - 2016
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Draft Surrey Local Flood Risk Management Strategy 2012 - 2016 www.surreycc.gov.uk Making Surrey a better place Why is a strategy needed? Tell us what you think about The Government has recently given local flooding authorities new powers to help manage local flood risk in a more coordinated way. These new Earlier this year, Surrey County Council used responsibilities relate primarily to ‘local’ flood feedback from residents to inform its strategy risk, namely from surface water, groundwater about flood risk. It now wants to know what you and ordinary watercourses (smaller rivers, think of it. streams and ditches). Flood risk from all other To give your views, visit www.surreycc.gov.uk/ rivers (known as main rivers) remains the floodriskstrategy or call 03456 009 009. responsibility of the Environment Agency. The closing date for all responses is 30 November Surrey County Council now has a statutory duty 2012. to produce a strategy. The Surrey Local Flood Risk Management Strategy: • Explains how partners are working together to reduce flood risk. • Provides an overview of the ongoing flood risk management work underway across Surrey. • Outlines which organisations are responsible for different types of flooding to ensure a common understanding of roles, responsibilities and priorities within the county. Extreme weather, existing buildings in floodplains and limited funding mean we cannot stop flood incidents in Surrey. However, through the strategy we will coordinate our services so that flood risk is reduced and the aftermath of flood incidents is minimised. The strategy provides a real opportunity for us to work together with residents and businesses to reduce risk and prepare for the future. Draft Surrey Local Flood Risk Management Strategy Contents Foreword 3 Our ambitions 1. Introduction 5 1.1 The purpose of the strategy 5 1.2 Structure 5 1.3 Why have we produced a strategy? 6 1.4 Who is the strategy aimed at? 6 1.5 Our objectives 6 1.6 Legislative context 7 1.7 Corporate plans and priorities 9 1.8 Surrey Flood Risk Partnership Board 9 1.9 Scrutiny and review 10 2. Flood risk in Surrey 11 2.1 Types of flood risk 11 2.2 Existing information on flood risk 13 2.3 Future changes to risk 24 2.4 How is information on flood risk currently communicated? 26 3. Roles and responsibilities 27 3.1 Surrey County Council (including Surrey Fire and Rescue Authority) 27 3.2 Environment Agency 32 3.3 District and borough councils 35 3.4 Internal drainage boards 37 3.5 Regional flood and coastal committees 38 3.6 Water companies 38 3.7 Highways Agency 39 3.8 Residents and businesses 40 4. Objectives and actions 43 4.1 Capital schemes 44 4.2 Maintenance 45 4.3 Sustainable drainage 46 4.4 Communication 47 4.5 Improving knowledge and skills 47 4.6 Partnership working on the implementation of the Lower Thames Flood Risk Management Strategy 48 4.7 Developing a holistic response to flood risk 48 4.8 Actions 48 5. Flood risk management funding 49 5.1 National funding 49 5.2 Local funding 50 5.3 Additional funding sources 50 6. Sustainable development and environment 53 6.1 How will the strategy make a contribution to sustainable development? 53 6.2 The environmental impact of the strategy: strategic environmental assessment 54 1 6.3 The impact of the strategy on sites of European importance for nature conservation: Habitat Regulations Assessment 54 6.4 The Water Framework Directive 55 6.5 The environmental impacts of schemes: Environmental Impact Assessment and Habitat Regulations Assessment 56 7. Next steps 58 Annexes Annex 1: Glossary of terms 59 Annex 2: Technical annex 63 Annex 3: Action plan 69 Annex 4: Annual programme of schemes 2012/ 13 75 Annex 5: Public feedback from a survey to inform the strategy 78 Annex 6: Contact details 81 Boxes Box 1: Our objectives 6 Box 2: Our approach to catchments in the strategy 14 Box 3: What is a sustainable drainage system? 29 Box 4: Case study Guildford Borough Council, Flood Risk Reduction Measures, November 2012 36 Box 5: Case study Spelthorne Borough Council, Supplementary Planning 36 Document on Flooding, consultation draft April 2012 Box 6: Case study Chobham Community Resilience Action Group (CCRAG) 41 Box 7: Case study Farnham River Management Committee (FRMC) 41 Box 8: Case study community payback 46 Box 9: Case study HydroCast: Rainfall forecast and analysis system 48 Box 10: What is sustainable development? 53 Box 11: Case study The Moors Project, Redhill 57 Figures Figure 1: Upper Medway Internal Drainage Board 37 Maps (these are available at www.surreycc.gov.uk/floodriskstrategy) Surrey Local Flood Risk Management Strategy Map 1 - Lower Thames Surrey Local Flood Risk Management Strategy Map 2 - Lower Wey Surrey Local Flood Risk Management Strategy Map 3 - Mole Surrey Local Flood Risk Management Strategy Map 4 - South London Surrey Local Flood Risk Management Strategy Map 5 - Upper Wey Surrey Local Flood Risk Management Strategy Map 6 - Surrey overview Surrey Local Flood Risk Management Strategy Map 7 - Surrey flood alleviation schemes 2012/ 13 Tables Table 1: Surrey clusters 17 Table 2: Means of calculating the amount of Flood Defence Grant in Aid 49 Table 3: Communities at risk of fluvial flooding – National Flood Risk Assessment Data 63 Table 4: Thames Catchment Flood Management Plan – Policy unit areas 64 Table 5: Historic flooding incidents 65 Table 6: Current and potential future flood zones in Surrey’s main urban centres 66 Table 7: Water Framework Directive - ecological status or ecological potential 67 2 Draft Surrey Local Flood Risk Management Strategy Foreword Recent Government legislation has provided local authorities with a number of new responsibilities in relation to flood risk management. It has also provided a timely opportunity to review the activities that we already carry out. This draft Surrey Local Flood Risk Management Strategy marks the start of a new, more coordinated approach to the work that we all carry out in this important area. The strategy draws in the work of other important risk management authorities within the county, such as water companies and the Environment Agency. This document is a first step in explaining how all these organisations plan to work together, what their priorities are, and who is responsible for what. Under legislation, the strategy has to explain what is being done to manage ‘local flood risk’, namely flooding from groundwater, ordinary watercourses and surface water. However, it also provides a unique opportunity to provide information on all sources of flooding and to discuss the links between them. It would not be possible to stop all flooding in the county, even with unlimited funding. The priorities identified represent the best way to manage the risk. They show how we are attempting to create a balance, between focusing on modelled risk, and the work needed to support areas that have already experienced flooding. We are in a period of great change with the transfer of responsibilities. We are improving our understanding of the nature of local flood risk. Early priorities therefore include a focus on what needs to be done to meet new responsibilities. We are also committed to developing our knowledge and understanding through the use of innovative technology. In April 2012, the way that the Government funds flood risk management projects changed. We are developing an understanding of areas in Surrey that have the highest eligibility for national funding to ensure that Surrey receives its fair share. Changes in national funding mean we also need to consider what local funding may be allocated to local flood risk priorities. Set out below are our ambitions to 2017 (in no particular order): 1. Drainage strategy - We will develop a long term drainage asset management strategy, which covers highways and ordinary watercourse maintenance. As a result we will target high risk and high need areas in a joined up way. 2. Infrastructure - The relevant local authorities will work together with the Environment Agency to ensure the development and implementation of flood risk management strategies including the Lower Thames and Wey. This will bring tangible reductions in flood risk to some Surrey communities. 3. Sustainable drainage - We will develop an approach to sustainable drainage systems that is fully integrated with the planning system. Large development sites will be exemplars. We also want to see more retrofitting of sustainable drainage systems in high risk areas. 3 4. Resilience - Together we will promote flood resilience and resistance measures to ‘at risk’ households and businesses in Surrey. This will include the continued development and sharing of ‘self help’ opportunities. 5. Insurance - We will urge the Government to work with the insurance industry to guarantee the availability and affordability of flood insurance. 6. Funding - We will be ambitious in our approach to securing national flood risk management funding, and in exploring additional funding sources. We will assist, where possible, in supporting the funding of property level protection schemes in high risk areas. 7. Communications - We will continue to explain what work is underway to reduce flood risk, how this is prioritised and what role residents and businesses can play. 8. Technology - We will continue to promote and use innovative technologies, to better understand the nature of flood risk, and identify potential flood risk mitigation measures. I hope you find the following document a useful source of information. Links to more detailed and technical information are provided throughout. This is our first step in ensuring that you are kept up to date with work that is underway or planned throughout the county and the role that you can play in this. Councillor John Furey, Cabinet Member for Transport and Environment, Surrey County Council Jason Russell, Chairman, Surrey Flood Risk Partnership Board 4 1.